Stefanik looks back to fiery exchanges with college leaders in Senate confirmation hearing: 'watershed moment'
Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik touted her fiery grillings of college administrators on Tuesday when she appeared before Senate lawmakers as part of her confirmation process to serve as the ambassador to the U.N., saying it was a "watershed moment" that exposed "antisemitic rot" in the U.S. colleges.
"My oversight work led to the most viewed testimony in history, in the history of Congress. This hearing with university presidents was heard around the world and viewed billions of times because it exposed the antisemitic rot in colleges and universities, and was a watershed moment in American higher education," Stefanik said Tuesday while speaking before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations,
Since 2023, Stefanik has served as a conservative firebrand who has repeatedly grilled "morally bankrupt" college leaders over their handling of antisemitism on campus following Hamas attacking Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
During last year's college school year, agitators and student protesters flooded college campuses nationwide to protest the war in Israel, which also included spiking instances of antisemitism and Jewish students publicly speaking out that they do not feel safe on some campuses.
Most notably, Stefanik grilled Ivy League college administrators from Penn and Harvard, her alma mater, in December 2023 regarding whether "calling for the genocide of Jews" violates the respective school’s codes of conduct. The school leaders, however, waffled in their responses.
"It can be, depending on the context," Harvard’s then-President Claudine Gay responded when asked if "calling for the genocide of Jews" violated school conduct rules.
"Antisemitic speech when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation – that is actionable conduct, and we do take action," Gay said when pressed to answer "yes" or "no" if calls for the genocide of Jews breaks school rules.
Both Gay and Penn’s then-President Liz Magill resigned from their high-profile positions shortly after the hearing, while footage of the exchanges spread like wildfire on social media.
WHAT STEFANIK'S HOUSE TENURE REVEALS ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF UN AMBASSADOR SHE MAY BE
President Donald Trump nominated Stefanik to serve as ambassador to the U.N. back in November, celebrating her as an "incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter."
Stefanik said in her opening remarks on Tuesday that Trump sees "great promise" for the United Nations if it returns to its roots of promoting peace around the globe.
"When discussing this nomination with President Trump, the President shared with me that he sees great promise in the United Nations if it focuses on its founding mission of international peace and security. President Trump has long advocated for peace and no new wars," she said.