Washington- House Speaker Mike Johnson is visiting Columbia University on Wednesday, where he is expected to call for the resignation of the university’s president as the campus is plagued by accusations of anti-Semitism amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests.
Johnson said Wednesday morning in an interview on “The Hugh Hewitt” show that he plans to appeal to the president of Columbia University. Minouche Shafik to resign, saying Shafik “proved himself to be a very weak and incompetent leader.” GOP Reps. Mike Lawler and Nicole Malliotakis of New York are expected to join the speaker Wednesday.
The speaker’s remarks are expected to focus on “the worrying rise of virulent anti-Semitism on American college campuses,” according to a statement from his office. He is scheduled to speak Wednesday afternoon, after meeting with Jewish students.
The visit comes as university campuses continue to be rocked by protests and tensions linked to the war between Israel and Hamas, with many demonstrations aimed at divestment of universities’ financial holdings in Israel. At Columbia University, protesters took over part of the New York campus, creating a camp because the demonstrations have been going on for a week.
University leaders have taken a stance on how to express contempt for anti-Semitic comments and enforce university policies while allowing students to practice free speech amid accusations that universities are not doing enough to protect Jewish students. And tensions have reached a fever pitch at some of the country’s most prestigious universities in recent days as protests have dragged on.
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Meanwhile, Republicans nationwide have taken advantage of the reluctance of college presidents to denounce anti-Semitism on their campuses in the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas. The momentum picked up in December, when a group of university presidents testified before a congressional committee. Rep. Elise Stefanik, chairwoman of the GOP conference, pressed administrators during the hearing on how they have handled anti-Semitic incidents on their campuses.
Since then, Stefanik has led the charge among Republicans, pushing for university leaders to resign. The presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard have already resigned. And last week, Columbia’s president became the latest to testify before Congress.
Johnson’s visit to campus further raises the issue and marks the latest in a series of visits by lawmakers this week. Meanwhile, every Republican member of New York’s congressional delegation called for the resignation of Colombia’s president.
In a letter earlier this week, the group of 10 New York Republicans, which includes Stefanik, Malliotakis and Lawler, called on Shafik to resign, saying recent events on campus and Shafik’s testimony before Congress did not leave them “no confidence” in the president’s leadership.
“The current situation that has developed is a direct symptom of your continued lax enforcement of your policies and double standards,” the letter states. “Even if the rot is systemic, the responsibility lies squarely on your shoulders.”
Nikole Killion contributed reporting.
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