President Donald Trump's move to cancel $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University was an important step in getting colleges to protect their students, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said on Newsmax Saturday.
"I think it shocks most Americans that Columbia University was receiving that type of federal money," the New York Republican told Newsmax's "Saturday Report." "We've been calling for accountability. We've been calling for consequences. Thank God President Trump is there, and we're seeing action being taken to rein in these institutions who have allowed anti-semitism to take place on their campuses."
The administration on Friday canceled the grants and contracts because of Columbia's "inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students," the General Services Administration said.
The money is coming out of $5 billion in grants that are committed to Columbia, the GSA noted.
"No student should feel unsafe when they go to college to get an education, and this is an important step in the right direction," said Malliotakis, adding that it echos her proposed legislation to give the Secretary of Education authority to strip federal funds from institutions that don't hold student organizations or faculty accountable for antisemitic demonstrations."
She also called for student visas to be stripped from foreign students who participate in antisemitic behavior, "something President Trump has done by executive order."
Meanwhile, every tool should be used to hold colleges accountable, the congresswoman said.
"Here in New York City in particular, they've allowed these protests to take place, and they took zero action, which is why we called for the resignation of the head of Columbia University, which she eventually did resign," said Malliotakis. "Speaker [Mike] Johnson, myself, and my colleagues went to visit and stand with the Jewish students at Columbia University to show support when no other city official or state official from New York would, and I think that was an important step in getting to where we are today."
She also rejected the argument that the protests were done under the guise of free speech.
"We met with students at these institutions, and they were telling us that there were swastikas painted on the grounds of the college," she said. "They were being bullied. They were being physically assaulted. So that's certainly crossing the line from free speech. That is anti-semitism, and we can't turn a blind eye to it. I'm glad that President Trump is taking action here to rein them in."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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