Columbia University President RESIGNS

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) welcomed the announcement that Columbia University President Minouche Shafik is stepping down, following months of heated anti-Israel protests on the university’s campus.

In a public letter released on Wednesday, Shafik acknowledged that the time since the demonstrations has “taken a considerable toll” on her.

“This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community,” Shafik said. “Over the summer, I have been able to reflect and have decided that my moving on at this point would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead. I have tried to navigate a path that upholds academic principles and treats everyone with fairness and compassion. It has been distressing—for the community, for me as president and on a personal level—to find myself, colleagues, and students the subject of threats and abuse.”

Elise Stefanik responded by stating that Shafik’s decision to step down was long overdue while also calling for many of her colleagues to also step down for their antisemitic stance.

“THREE DOWN, so many to go. As I have said consistently since her catastrophic testimony at the Education and the Workforce Committee hearing, Columbia University’s President Minouche Shafik’s failed presidency was untenable and that is was only a matter of time before her forced resignation,” the GOP lawmaker said. “After failing to protect Jewish students and negotiating with pro-Hamas terrorists, this forced resignation is long overdue. We will continue to demand moral clarity, condemnation of antisemitism, protection of Jewish students and faculty, and stronger leadership from American higher education institutions.”

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) took action against a group of anti-Israel protesters at Columbia University who had occupied a building and subsequently demanded that the university supply them with meals.

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