House Democrats want to do something this week about antisemitism on college campuses. They’re just divided on what that should be.
Democrats are mostly split into two groups. Some support Republican Rep. Mike Lawler’s bill to require the Department of Education to follow the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which will get a vote on Wednesday. Others are backing Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning’s bill to codify President Joe Biden’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism and appoint a special official in the Department of Education to monitor antisemitism cases.
Some of them believe Republicans are trying to co-opt the issue. Speaker Mike Johnson visited Columbia University last week amid student demonstrations against the war on Gaza and delivered a speech on antisemitism.