Rep. Elise Stefanik demands federal funds for Columbia University be revoked in wake of anti-Israel protests

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) on Tuesday accused Columbia University leadership of civil rights violations over their handling of disruptive anti-Israel protests on campus. 

Stefanik, in a letter to top Biden administration officials, demanded that federal funding to the Ivy League school be stripped because of the alleged Civil Rights Act violations. 

“The ongoing situation that has unfolded is systemic of Columbia University leadership’s failures to address ongoing antisemitism, failure to enforce campus policies, and failure to fulfill her responsibilities under federal law,” the New York Republican wrote in a letter addressed to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding immediate action. 

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“Due to her lack of action, President [Minouche] Shafik has ceded control of campus and is failing to provide the equal protections guaranteed for students under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” Stefanik said. “By knowingly allowing this to continue, Columbia University is complicit in this violation.” 

Stefanik, 39, argued that there is “clear and convincing” evidence that Jewish students attending Columbia have been targeted by anti-Israel protesters because of their religious beliefs and that the institution has “allowed this to persist without consequence.”

In November, the Department of Education launched an investigation into seven schools, including Columbia University, over alleged incidents of antisemitism on campus. 

“It is past time for the Department of Education to publish the findings,” Stefanik said of the ongoing probe, urging Cardona to “hold the university accountable.” 

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“Furthermore, the Department must take action to revoke any federal funding flowing to Columbia and similar institutions so taxpayers are not funding the ongoing discrimination,” she added. 

Stefanik, who has grilled several university presidents this year amid a wave of antisemitism on college campuses, also called on Mayorkas to revoke visas and deport students that have been suspended for antisemitic conduct. 

Stefanik previously called on the president of Columbia University to resign for “putting Jewish students’ safety at risk.”

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The anti-Israel protests at Columbia’s Manhattan campus have resulted in more than 100 arrests since last week. 

The school has closed its doors to students and faculty because of the unrest, announcing that hybrid classes will replace in-person learning for the rest of the term. 

Stefanik ripped Shafik over the decision, arguing that the president has given in to the mob’s “anarchy” instead of punishing the protesters.