In what some Democrats described as a partisan spectacle, university leaders from University of California (UC) Berkeley, Georgetown University, and the City University of New York (CUNY) appeared before the House Education and Workforce Committee Tuesday for the final in a series of Republican-led hearings on antisemitism in higher education.
Georgetown Interim President Robert Groves, CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, and UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons were questioned by GOP lawmakers about faculty hiring, DEI policies, foreign funding, and academic freedom. The hearing is the ninth since December 2023 and comes amid ongoing Republican scrutiny of higher education following the October 7 Hamas attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza.
All three leaders opened their remarks by unequivocally condemning antisemitism.
“Georgetown University has been clear: antisemitism is incompatible with living our mission; the same applies to Islamophobia and racism,” Groves said.
Lyons added, “Berkeley unequivocally condemns antisemitism… we have more work to do.”
Matos Rodríguez affirmed, “Antisemitism has no place at CUNY,” noting the university now enforces a zero-tolerance policy for unauthorized encampments.
Democratic members pushed back against the hearing’s premise and the broader political motivations they saw behind it.
“This is our ninth hearing on antisemitism in 18 months,” said Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the committee’s ranking member. “We have not held a single hearing addressing racism, xenophobia, sexism, Islamophobia, or other challenges affecting other student groups.”
Scott also criticized Republicans for remaining silent on the Trump administration’s dismantling of civil rights enforcement offices.
Matt Nosanchuck, a former Department of Education official under President Obama, called the hearing “contradictory and counterproductive.” He urged lawmakers to properly fund civil rights agencies rather than “conduct political theatre.”
Republicans, including Reps. Tim Walberg and Virginia Foxx, directed pointed questions at Matos Rodríguez over a Hunter College job listing referencing “settler colonialism” and at Lyons over faculty affiliations. Lyons responded, “We use academic standards to hire faculty. We don’t use ideological conditions.”
Democrats warned the hearings were part of a broader effort to discredit and defund higher education.
