Speaker Johnson confronts Columbia protesters, calls on university president to resign

NEW YORK — House Speaker Mike Johnson called on Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign over her handling of anti-Israel protest turmoil, chiding school officials for allowing “lawless agitators and radicals” to take over the campus.

“I’m here today joining my colleagues and calling on President Shafik to resign if she cannot immediately bring order to this chaos,” Mr. Johnson said from the steps of the Low Memorial Library on the Morningside campus in Manhattan.

“As speaker of the House, I am committing today that the Congress will not remain silent as Jewish students are expected to run for their lives and stay home from their classes hiding in fear,” he said during an extraordinary visit to the Ivy League university.

Mr. Johnson and the four House Republicans who joined him at the press conference were greeted by a crowd of noisy campus protesters who sought to drown them out with boos and chants of “We’re not listening” and “Free Palestine.”

Facing the hostile reception from student protesters, the Republicans didn’t mince words.

“I have a message for President Shafik and a message for you all, too: The inmates are running the asylum,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

Rep. Michael Lawler, New York Republican, told the pro-Palestinian students that it was “shameful that you would support a terrorist organization that butchered, beheaded and burned innocent women, children and babies.”

“I want Palestinians to be free, too, from their oppressor: Hamas,” Mr. Lawler said. “And every single one of you that supports Hamas is an absolute abomination.”

Administrators at Columbia have proven themselves to be incapable of achieving their basic responsibly – keeping students safe.

I join my colleagues in calling on President Shafik to resign.

Congress will not be silent as Jewish students are targeted on campus. pic.twitter.com/GARHwgKF0M

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) April 24, 2024

The lawmakers met first with Jewish students and then with Ms. Shafik and other top university officials. Afterward, they said they had little confidence in the ability of the first-year president and her team to restore order.

“They have proven themselves to be incapable of achieving their basic responsibility, which is keeping students safe,” said Mr. Johnson. “We just can’t allow this kind of hatred and antisemitism to flourish on our campuses, and it must be stopped in its tracks.”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, New York Republican, said, “It’s clear that the president of this university cannot control this campus.

“We just met with a group of students who told us that not only that they have been bullied but many of them have been assaulted,” she said. “They have been spat on. They have had to walk the halls of this campus to see swastikas painted. These are a clear example of antisemitism, and it’s shocking to see that it’s happening in the most diverse and welcoming city in America.”

The lawmakers’ trek to the proverbial lion’s den came with Columbia officials seeking to negotiate with students to dismantle the “Zionist Solidarity Encampment” that covers the West Lawn, a protest that has inspired similar tent cities at universities nationwide.

Ms. Shafik initially gave the protesters a deadline of midnight Tuesday, but a school spokesperson said Wednesday that students had been given another 48 hours after agreeing to remove “a significant number of tents” and remove protesters not affiliated with Columbia.

“I fully support the importance of free speech, respect the right to demonstrate, and recognize that many of the protesters have gathered peacefully,” Ms. Shafik said in her statement. “However, the encampment raises serious safety concerns, disrupts campus life, and has created a tense and at times hostile environment for many members of our community. It is essential that we move forward with a plan to dismantle it.”

She warned that the university would explore “alternative options” if the protesters refused to budge, but some accused her of coddling the protesters, who have called for the university to divest from Israel and companies doing business with Israel.

A Jewish student who met with the House Republicans said Wednesday that “the fact that there’s ongoing negotiations with representatives of these [protest] organizations is kind of beyond me.”

Columbia junior Daniel Garren said the university “played right into the hands” of the protesters by calling in the New York Police Department last week to clear out the encampment. More than 100 students were arrested, but the tent city grew bigger than ever.

“I think when they first set up on the lawns, they wanted to get arrested, and they got arrested, and they got a ton of press coverage for it,” he said. “And the next day, they had twice as many protesters. It’s not that the university has caved to them; it’s that the university has done exactly what they wanted the university to do.”

Not impressed with the speaker’s visit was New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who accused Mr. Johnson ahead of his press conference of “politicizing” the Columbia crisis. She said drawing attention to the campus unrest “is only adding to the division.”

Columbia canceled in-person classes Monday and then announced it would move to mostly remote hybrid learning for the rest of the academic year. The university’s commencement ceremonies are scheduled for May 15.

“I am deeply sensitive to the fact that graduating seniors spent their first year attending Columbia remotely,” Ms. Shafik said in her Tuesday statement. “We all very much want these students to celebrate their well-deserved graduation with family and friends.”

Columbia professor Shai Davidai posted an email Wednesday from 133 Jewish students who said they remain fearful of attending classes and listed examples of threatening chants from protesters, including, “Ya Qassam [Hamas] make us proud, take another soldier out,” and “We say justice, you say how? Burn Tel Aviv to the ground.”

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, New York Republican, cited a report saying that Hamas has praised the Columbia student protesters as “future leaders.”

“If you are a protest on this campus and you are proud that you’ve been endorsed by Hamas, you are part of the problem,” Mr. D’Esposito told the crowd.