Steny Hoyer Talks Congress and University’s Response to Antisemitism on Campus

Updated October 11, 2024, at 3:30 p.m.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former No. 2 House Democrat, said “government ought not to be in the business of intimidating educational institutions” during an interview with The Crimson on Thursday, throwing a jab at the Republican-led effort to investigate Harvard over campus antisemitism.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce opened an investigation into Harvard’s response to campus antisemitism in December, days after former University President Claudine Gay’s disastrous testimony before the committee.

While Hoyer said that politicians have an obligation to denounce hateful speech, he said lawmakers should not engage in “intimidation” of colleges and universities.

“We need to be very careful, because I think academic freedom, freedom of speech, and university integrity is very important in our country,” Hoyer said. “That’s not the government’s business.”

House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) wrote in a statement on Friday that “educational institutions ought not to be in the business of breaking federal laws by allowing Jewish students or any other protected group to be harassed and intimidated on their campuses.”

Hoyer spoke with The Crimson during a visit to Harvard’s campus on Thursday, where he spoke at an event hosted by Harvard Chabad, one of the University’s main Jewish centers. Event organizers said the talk was off-the-record and closed to the press.

Hoyer’s visit to campus also comes amid heightened tensions on campus as students marked the one-year-anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee released a controversial statement on Monday that described Oct. 7 as the day “Gaza broke through Israel’s blockade,” prompting Rep. Elise M. Stefanik ’06 (R-N.Y.) to criticize the University’s administration for refusing to “condemn and discipline” the students behind the PSC’s statement.

Hoyer said in the interview that it was wrong to use “intimidation” against academic institutions, but acknowledged that Harvard needs to do more to combat antisemitism.

“As long as antisemitism exists, we’re not doing enough,” Hoyer said. “In terms of speaking out against hateful speech, hateful talk, hateful actions, whether it’s a professor, a president, or a student, again, you’re not doing enough if you're not calling out people who promote hate, promote division.”

Harvard spokesperson Jason A. Newton declined to comment for this article.

Hoyer also said that Harvard, as an elite institution of higher education, is “not immune from criticism.”

Hoyer said that there were alternative methods for holding Harvard accountable that don’t involve threatening to withhold federal funding, saying that the government spends on education “because an educated populace is best for the country.”

“Harvard was held accountable through its president — she resigned,” Hoyer said, referring to Gay. “And no money was withheld.”

“Educational institutions are not immune from criticism, not immune from opposition, because they happen to be an academic institution,” he added.