‘American universities officially put on notice’: Congress probe into protests

The Republican-led US House of Representatives has called for an investigation into the ongoing pro-Palestine protests at universities across the country. In a message to "mealy-mouthed spineless college leaders", a party lawmaker warned "we have come to take our universities back".

The probe launched on Tuesday will look into federal funding for the universities where the protests have erupted in an effort to halt grants aimed at increasing pressure to stop the anti-Israel campus encampment protests.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday evening, Virginia Foxx, Chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, announced that the heads of Yale University, the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Michigan have been called to testify before her panel on May 23 in connection to the investigation.

“Republican leaders have a clear message for mealy-mouthed spineless college leaders. Congress will not tolerate your dereliction of duty to your Jewish students. American universities are officially put on notice that we have come to take our universities back,” she said.

While praising House Speaker Mike Johnson for "expanding the Committee's ongoing investigation into a Congress-wide initiative", the 80-year-old lawmaker said,"No stone must go unturned while our buildings are being defaced, campus greens are being captured or graduations being ruined."

"A college is not a park for play-acting juveniles or a battleground for radical activists. Everyone affiliated with these universities will receive a healthy dose of reality. Actions have consequences. One of those consequences is that I’ve given notice to appear to Yale, UCLA and Michigan to appear before the Education and Workforce Committee on May 23 for a hearing on their handling of these most recent outrages,” she added.