Haverford College President Wendy Raymond testifies before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — A trio of college presidents from across the nation Wednesday took heat from U.S. House lawmakers, as Republicans expand their drive to penalize higher education institutions they say have failed to combat antisemitism.

The presidents of Pennsylvania’s Haverford College, DePaul University in Chicago and California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo appeared before the House Committee on Education and Workforce to detail the steps the schools have taken to address antisemitism at their schools.

But it was the Haverford president, Wendy Raymond, who drew the most outrage from Republicans, including a tense exchange with Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, when Raymond could not say how many students have been disciplined recently for antisemitic conduct.

Stefanik called Raymond’s responses “completely unacceptable.”

The hearing in the GOP-controlled House education panel — the first on antisemitism since President Donald Trump took office — came as his administration takes drastic steps to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from several elite institutions across the country over claims that the schools are harboring antisemitism on their campuses.

Harvard University has had grant funding yanked by the administration for permitting “intolerable” harassment of Jewish students.

Trump officials have also attempted to make elite institutions align more with the administration ideologically.

GOP lawmakers have focused on antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and college protests that surfaced across the country last year over the war in Gaza. Now they are moving on beyond the Ivy League.

Chairman Tim Walberg said “the scourge of antisemitism has taken root far beyond the country’s best-known ivory towers, and it’s our responsibility as a committee to unearth and address antisemitism at these schools, too, and others, especially as antisemitism is at a historic high in the United States.”

“Antisemitism is proliferating at colleges across the country, both private and public, in rural, urban and suburban settings,” the Michigan Republican said.

Haverford president apologizes

Republicans on the panel expressed particular dissatisfaction with testimony offered from Haverford’s Raymond.

The small liberal arts college, founded in 1833, is located in the suburbs of Philadelphia. 

Raymond acknowledged that in reaction to the war in Gaza, “events have occurred on our campus that are inconsistent with our values” and apologized to Haverford’s Jewish community. She did not elaborate on the incidents.

She said the college has taken “significant steps to address these issues and strengthen our policies.”

“That includes updating our policies, strengthening campus safety programs, deepening engagement with the Jewish community, launching programs to combat antisemitism and forming our ad hoc committee on free expression.”

Asked by Walberg how many students have been expelled or suspended for antisemitic conduct since Hamas’ 2023 attack, Raymond was the only one of the three presidents who could not provide concrete numbers.

Raymond said Haverford does not publicize that information but that suspension and expulsion are “normal parts” of their disciplinary process.

‘Straightforward questions’

Stefanik took aim at Raymond’s refusal to offer more details on any actions taken by the school regarding antisemitism.

During a heated exchange between Stefanik and Raymond, the Haverford president said: “Respectfully, representative, I will not be talking about individual cases here.”

Stefanik fired back, saying: “Respectfully, president of Haverford, many people have sat in this position who are no longer in the positions as president of universities for their failure to answer straightforward questions.” 

Stefanik was pointing to multiple university presidents she grilled who appeared before the House education panel for hearings regarding campus antisemitism and later resigned, including leaders at Harvard, Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Raymond had said that there “have been some” disciplinary actions taken by Haverford related to antisemitism but did not offer details.

“For the American people watching: You still don’t get it. Haverford still doesn’t get it. It’s a very different testimony than the other presidents who are here today, who are coming with specifics,” Stefanik said. 

DePaul’s president, Robert Manuel, detailed a number of steps the university is taking, including implementing a new ID verification and mask policy, placing  new limits on campus protests and suspending the operations of a student group that Walberg claimed is “at the very center” of the school’s “antisemitism problem.”

Cal Poly’s president, Jeffrey Armstrong, said “when alleged antisemitism or harassment occurs, we investigate and impose immediate university discipline.”

He also said the university is enhancing its mandatory student orientation and biannual employee training to provide greater education and awareness on antisemitism.

At the end of her heated exchange with Raymond, Stefanik said “this is completely unacceptable, and it’s why this committee has stepped in, because higher education has failed to address the scourge of antisemitism, putting Jewish students at risk at Haverford and other campuses across the country.”

Democrats criticize cuts at Education Department

Meanwhile, Democrats on the panel criticized Republicans on the committee for pursuing hearings on antisemitism when the Trump administration has made huge cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, including its Office for Civil Rights that’s tasked with investigating discrimination complaints.

Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member of the panel, said “in its first three months, the Trump administration has closed down seven of 12 OCR regional offices, all of which conduct investigations into discrimination on campus, whether it be based on antisemitism or race, national origin, gender or disability.”

The Virginia Democrat also pointed to reports of nearly half of the OCR staff being laid off. “One is left to wonder: how can OCR carry out its important responsibilities with half the staff?” he said.

Scott added that the administration’s move to dismantle OCR “raises reasonable doubt about the plans for addressing antisemitism on campus as well as racism, homophobia, sexism, Islamophobia or the needs of students with disabilities.”