House Speaker Mike Johnson wants the Columbia University president to resign, calling her “inept” and “weak.”
Johnson, who is visiting Colombia on Wednesday, denounced Nemat “Minouche” Shafik’s handling of pro-Palestinian student protests and anti-Semitism on campus after Hamas attack of October 7 on Israel and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza.
Upon his arrival on campus Wednesday evening, Johnson was greeted by a crowd who booed and heckled him, while a few applauded him, according to an Axios reporter who posted a video on X.
Although Johnson does not have the power to directly oust a university president, similar calls from political figures have fueled recent resignations.
After lawmakers and influential figures urged the presidents of Harvard, MIT and UPenn to resign following their congressional testimony on campus anti-Semitism in December, Harvard’s Claudine Gay and Elizabeth Magill of the UPenn resigned, although MIT President Sally Kornbluth maintained her role.
“What we are seeing on these college campuses across the country is disgusting and unacceptable,” Johnson said. “The Hugh Hewitt Show” Wednesday. “Every leader in this country, every politician, every citizen of good conscience needs to speak up and say that this is not who we are in America and we need to be held accountable.”
“This is unacceptable,” Johnson added. “This president, Shafik, is proving to be a very weak and incompetent leader. They can’t even guarantee the safety of Jewish students? They are expected to run for their lives and stay home after class? It’s just, it’s infuriating.”
Columbia students began camping on campus last week to protest Israel’s war in Gaza, arguing that the country is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. They also demand that the university divest from companies that support Israel.
As the protests intensified, Shafik testified before Congress, where she took a much stronger stance against anti-Semitism than her college president peers had during their hearing months before. When Congress asked Harvard’s Claudine Gay, for example, whether students calling for Jewish genocide would violate university policies, she replied, “It may, depending on the context.”
On the second day of protests, Shafik called in the New York police, who arrested more than a hundred pro-Palestinian student protesters on suspicion of trespassing. Protests have continued since, with some student groups saying Jewish students have been targets of offensive and anti-Semitic speech on campus.
In response to ongoing campus unrest, House Republicans threatened to withdraw federal funding from Columbia and other schools facing similar protests, arguing they had failed to protect student safety Jews.
“We’re going to appeal to educational institutions like Columbia. If you can’t control what happens at your university, if the president of that university can’t keep students safe, then they shouldn’t be eligible to no federal aid. this university,” New York Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito said Monday after visiting the campus, according to the Washington Post.
Johnson echoed those calls Wednesday on the “Hugh Hewitt Show,” adding that student protesters’ visas could be revoked.
Johnson is expected to meet with Columbia Jewish students and the university’s Rabbi Yuda Drizin on Wednesday before holding a news conference in which he and other House Republicans are expected to formally call for Shafik’s resignation, the Journal reported. Washington Post.
“The decibel of our disagreements has only increased in recent days,” Shafik wrote in a statement Monday following his decision to call the NYPD to campus. “These tensions have been exploited and amplified by individuals unaffiliated with Columbia, who came to campus to pursue their own agendas. We need a reset.”
Representatives for Shafik did not immediately respond to BI’s request for comment.
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