Full list of lawmakers calling for Columbia president’s resignation

Calls for an academic “reset” by Columbia University President Minouche Shafik in response to ongoing pro-Palestinian protests on school grounds are not working, according to some U.S. lawmakers, and should be grounds for her resignation.

Shafik has attempted to navigate campus security concerns amid national attention on demonstrations and what has been labeled by some as antisemitism at the Ivy League college in New York City. On Monday, she announced that in-person classes were canceled to bring down tensions and “deescalate the rancor” following the erecting of a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on campus last week to protest Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

The encampment is also aimed at pushing back against the university’s “continued financial investment in corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine,” said Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a coalition of student organizations, in a press release.

In recent days, more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators have been arrested by New York police. Demonstrators say they have been threatened by the deployment of National Guard soldiers who may be called in to tear down the encampment.

Columbia’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine has compared the protests on its campus to peaceful protests at other times in the U.S. The group cited the Black Lives Matter demonstrations after George Floyd‘s 2020 murder while in Minneapolis police custody and the 1970 killing of four Kent State University students by National Guardsmen during a Vietnam War protest.

Newsweek reached out to Columbia University via email for comment.

The entire New York GOP congressional delegation has called for Shafik’s resignation:

• Representative Elise Stefanik, chair of the House Republican Conference
• Representative Nicole Malliotakis
• Representative Claudia Tenney
• Representative Nick Langworthy
• Representative Nick LaLota
• Representative Andrew Garbarino
• Representative Anthony D’Esposito
• Representative Marc Molinaro
• Representative Brandon Williams
• Representative Mike Lawler

“Over the past few days, anarchy has engulfed the campus of Columbia University,” says a letter written by the delegation and addressed to Shafik. “As the leader of this institution, one of your chief objectives, morally and under law, is to ensure students have a safe learning environment.

“By every measure, you have failed this obligation,” the letter continues. “The situation unfolding on campus right now is a direct product of your policies and misguided decisions. As representatives from the State of New York, many of our constituents are directly impacted by the unfolding chaos on Columbia’s campus. Based on these recent events and your testimony in front of Congress, we have no confidence in your leadership of this once esteemed institution.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he will join New York representatives at a press conference to call for Shafik’s resignation.

“[Shafik’s] shown to be a very weak and inept leader,” Johnson said. “They cannot even guarantee the safety of Jewish students? They’re expected to run for their lives and stay home from class? It’s maddening. What we’re seeing on these college campuses across the country is disgusting and unacceptable.”

Representative Mark Alford also heavily criticized the protests and, in his view, a lack of response by the university.

“The events unfolding at Columbia University are deeply disturbing,” the Missouri Republican wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “These are not protests; these are extremist and violent calls to action against Jewish people. No student should ever feel unsafe, threatened, or fear for their life—period. President Shafik should resign immediately.”

GOP Representative Jim Banks of Indiana, a U.S. Senate candidate, called Columbia “a cesspool [that] shouldn’t receive another single dime of federal money.”

Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, whose daughter, Isra Hirsi, was among the 100 Columbia demonstrators arrested for protesting, attended a protest on campus late Tuesday.

“I am incredibly moved by your courage and bravery as a student body in putting your bodies on the line to stand in solidarity to end the genocide taking place in Gaza,” Omar said to gathered demonstrators, according to Minneapolis’ Star Tribune.

In the U.S. Senate, Republican Tim Scott has called for Shafik’s resignation, saying that she has “allowed students to turn their campus into a breeding ground for hatred.”

“What’s happening at Columbia University is a disgrace to the core values of our nation,” Scott said on Monday. “Our Jewish brothers and sisters have my unwavering support as we combat antisemitism at home and abroad.”

Republican Senator Josh Hawley said the military should be called in by the Biden administration.

“Eisenhower sent the 101st to Little Rock,” Hawley wrote on X. “It’s time for Biden to call out the National Guard at our universities to protect Jewish Americans.”

Democratic Senator John Fetterman had an ultimatum of sorts for Shafik.

“I fully agree with the White House—these ‘protests'” are antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous,” Fetterman wrote on X. “Add some tiki torches and it’s Charlottesville for these Jewish students. To @Columbia President Minouche Shafik: do your job or resign so Columbia can find someone who will.”

Asaf Romirowsky, a Middle East historian and executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, told Newsweek email that Shafik’s recent testimony before Congress “wasn’t strong enough” to combat protests and antisemitic remarks directed at Jewish students.

He said the consequences of Israel’s war against Hamas have reached America’s campuses.

“Private institutions are able to set limits on free speech, but calling for genocide crosses a line,” Romirowsky said. “We have now seen images reminiscent of Jewish academics being turned away by German-Nazi institutions. These pro-Hamas students need to know that there are consequences, and Shafik needs to be held accountable for failing to do her job.”

Public Agenda President Andrew Seligsohn, who has a background of civil and political engagement at various colleges and universities, told Newsweek that calls for Shafik’s resignation by lawmakers only makes a difficult situation that much harder to deal with.

“Pressure from Congress contributed to the escalation that we’ve seen the last several days on Columbia and others,” Seligsohn said. “It seems like the Columbia delegation was responding directly to Congress when requested to take more action against protesters and in turn escalated [the situation].”

He said these “external factors” contributing to the turmoil are being received quite well by some of these lawmakers.

Some are “quite happy” to see institutions like Columbia damaged, he said, alluding to comments on how far “elite institutions” have fallen and how they should be financially affected in a negative fashion.

“In response to congressional pressure, many campuses have failed to protect free expression rights,” Seligsohn said. “And it’s difficult to assess these claims from the outside.”