House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in an interview Wednesday that Columbia University President Minouche Shafik should resign amid anti-Israel protests at the school.
Johnson, who appeared on Hugh Hewitt's radio show, will be visiting the university along with several congressmen to have a meal with Jewish students and Rabbi Yuda Drizin and have a news conference.
The school has had to shutter in-person classes for the rest of the semester due to the protests. Hundreds have been arrested in protests at both Columbia and New York University.
"It's unconscionable," Johnson said. "Shafik has shown to be a very weak, inept leader. They cannot even guarantee the safety of Jewish students? They're expected to run for their lives and stay home from class? It's maddening."
The speaker said it was "disgusting and unacceptable" to see college campuses engulfed by anti-Israel protests. He said schools should have their federal funding revoked if they cannot control their campuses.
"We have Jewish students who have actually been physically assaulted," Johnson said. "They've been harassed. They've been intimidated and threatened."
Johnson said violent protesters should have their visas revoked.
"You don't have a right to be here and to do this," Johnson said. "But Jewish students have a right to be able to peacefully attend classes. They're trying to get an education, and this is just madness. Every leader in this country, every political official, every citizen of good conscience, has to speak out and say that this is not who we are in America."
Ahead of Johnson's visit, the university said it was making "important progress" with pro-Palestinian student protesters who set up a tent encampment and that it was extending a deadline to clear it out.
Student protesters "have committed to dismantling and removing a significant number of tents," the university said in a statement. A smaller encampment remained on campus Wednesday morning.
The school said only Columbia University students will be participating in the protest.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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