House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) on Sunday linked the “anarchy” of protests that have sprung up on university campuses across the country in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to the Democratic Party, pinning the chaos on a leadership vacuum that she contended goes all the way to President Joe Biden.
During an interview on Fox News, Stefanik— who is considered to be in the mix to become former President Donald Trump’s running mate — dismissed Biden taking a stand last week and saying “order must prevail” as coming too little, too late amid rising concerns about the safety of Jewish students and police crackdowns on some of the anti-Israel protests.
“These pro-Hamas riots, this is Joe Biden’s Democrat Party,” she said. “Joe Biden not only waited ten days to condemn. He has been silent since last December with that historic hearing, where you had three Ivy League university presidents fail to condemn the genocide of Jews. Joe Biden waited months to speak out, saying that testimony was unacceptable.”
Stefanik, who was speaking with “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo, was referring to Ivy League presidents dodging in a congressional hearing back in December her question of whether calling for the genocide of Jews on campuses violated their schools’ policies on bullying and harassment.
This morning, I joined @MariaBartiromo @SundayFutures to discuss the antisemitism crisis on America’s college campuses and the deafening silence of Joe Biden and Democrats who have failed to speak out and condemn the pro-Hamas rioters who are now a part of the radical Democrat… pic.twitter.com/NEfb2Xhdg0
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) May 5, 2024
“He didn’t even say that, actually, in his statement,” Stefanik added. “But he gave it lip service. But this is the radicalized, far-Left Democrat Party that Joe Biden owns today. It is about lawlessness. It is about anarchy. It is attacking our most precious ally, Israel. And it is hurling anti-Semitic slurs against Jewish students, as well as physical harassment, physical assault against Jewish students.”
House Republicans announced last week a chamber-wide effort to combat anti-Semitism with scrutiny of federal funding and tax benefits universities receive, as well as cracking down on foreign student visa recipients perpetuating sympathy to terrorist groups at U.S. schools. The GOP-led House then passed an anti-Semitism definition bill meant to guide enforcement of federal anti-discrimination laws for educational programs.
“There is a great deal that we are doing in Congress and our oversight,” Stefanik said. “And our legislative solutions will consist of pulling back federal funding, addressing the foreign dollars that are flowing into these institutions, and holding these schools accountable.”
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Stefanik also argued that leaders in the Democratic Party, including Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), have been hamstrung by political infighting.
“This is Joe Biden’s Democrat Party today, the pro-Hamas rioters on college campuses, the anarchists. And that’s why you’re seeing trepidation among Democrats from speaking out, because this is their base. And the reality is, this is why Republicans continue to poll stronger and stronger, because we represent peace and security. We represent standing up for the Constitution,” Stefanik said.
“We represent supporting our ally of Israel, and we strongly condemn anti-Semitism. There is a reason that House Republicans have led on this, and it’s because there has been a void at our universities,” she added. “There is a void at the White House, starting with the top of Joe Biden, and there’s been a void in Democrat leadership, including Chuck Schumer, which is why we have expanded the investigation and will continue to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars to yank federal funding that is propping up these institutions that are indoctrinating our next generation.”