Speaker Johnson calls for Columbia University president to resign

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to members of the press after the House of Representatives passed bills, including aid to Ukraine and Israel, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on April 20, 2024. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday said House Republicans will hold a press conference later in the afternoon to call on Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign.

Johnson told talk radio host Hugh Hewitt that Shafik is a "very weak, inept leader" and criticized the university after Jewish students were advised to leave campus for their safety. 

"They cannot even guarantee the safety of Jewish students? They are expected to run for their lives and stay home from class? It’s maddening," Johnson said. "What we are seeing on these college campuses across the country is disgusting and unacceptable and every leader in this country, every political official, every citizen of good conscience has to speak out and say ‘this is not who we are in America.’"

An Orthodox rabbi at Columbia University and Barnard College recently sent a message recommending Jewish students leave campuses and go home as students continue to occupy an encampments there.

In a WhatsApp message sent to hundreds before the start of Passover, Rabbi Elie Buechler, director of OU-LJIC at Columbia/Barnard, told students to leave "as soon as possible" until the situation improves, noting that "what we are witnessing in and around campus is terrible and tragic."

Johnson condemned reports of physical assaults and harassment against Jewish students during the widespread anti-Israel protests on university campuses. 

"We need to revoke federal funding to these universities if they cannot keep control. We need to revoke these student visas for these violent protesters," Johnson said. "You don’t have a right to be here and to do this, but Jewish students have a right to be able to peacefully attend classes. They are trying to get an education. This is just madness."