Bipartisan resolution calls on presidents of Harvard, MIT to step down
Fox News national correspondent Bryan Llenas reports on the backlash to university presidents' congressional testimony on antisemitism on 'America's Newsroom.'
The House of Representatives voted in favor of a resolution calling on the presidents of Harvard and MIT to resign following last week's hearing on antisemitism.
In a vote on Wednesday evening, representatives passed the resolution by a vote of 303-126. It required two-thirds to pass, or 290 votes.
The bill was introduced by House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J.
"President Magill has resigned, and the other Presidents should follow suit," the resolution states.
Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, speaks during a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., last week, (Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Stefanik commented on the resolution's passage, calling it a "historic bipartisan effort to stand for moral truth."
"The world is watching as Members from both sides of the aisle stand resolutely with the Jewish people to condemn antisemitism on university campuses and the morally bankrupt testimony of the Harvard, MIT, and Penn university presidents during last week’s House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing," Stefanik wrote on X. "It is disappointing and revealing that 128 Democrats chose to vote against condemning antisemitism on college campuses and the pathetic and abhorrent testimony of the university presidents."
During the hearing on antisemitism, then-University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, Harvard President Claudine Gay, and MIT President Sally Kornbluth all gave "evasive" answers when asked by Stefanik if calls for the genocide of Jews would violate their institution's policies on bullying and harassment.
Liz Magill, then-president of the University of Pennsylvania, during a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., last week. (Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment. Yes," Magill responded, later adding, "It is a context-dependent decision."
"It can be, depending on the context," Gay responded.
Kornbluth responded to the question, saying it would be considered harassment only if it's "targeted at individuals, not making public statements" and if it was "pervasive and severe."
In an earlier statement to Fox News Digital, an MIT spokesperson said that "MIT and our president, Sally Kornbluth, reject antisemitism in all its forms," and pointed to a statement from the school's governing board.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Liz Magill, then-president of the University of Pennsylvania, testifies before the House Education and Workforce Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building last week. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
"The MIT Corporation chose Sally to be our president for her outstanding academic leadership, her judgment, her integrity, her moral compass, and her ability to unite our community around MIT’s core values. She has done excellent work in leading our community, including in addressing antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate, which we reject utterly at MIT. She has our full and unreserved support," the MIT Corporation wrote.
The Harvard Corporation reaffirmed their support for Gay on Tuesday, hours after the resolution was introduced, stating she is the "right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing."
Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
More from Politics
