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House speaker to announce ‘crackdown on the virus of antisemitism’ he claims is spreading on college campuses amid pro-Palestinian protests
Good morning, US politics blog readers. As campus protests against Israel’s invasion of Gaza escalate nationwide – including at Columbia University, where demonstrators took over a building overnight – the GOP is pressing forward with allegations that the rallies are motivated by anti-Jewish bias. While the evidence for that is disputed, the Republican speaker of the House Mike Johnson today plans to announce “a House-wide crackdown on the virus of antisemitism spreading throughout college campuses”. Johnson paid a visit to Columbia last week, where he alleged Hamas “backed” the student protests, a remark that was criticized as baseless. He has also threatened to use Congress’s powers to revoke visas from foreign students involved in the demonstrations, and cut funding to universities that do not protect Jewish students.
Johnson will hold a press conference at 2.15pm ET to elaborate on just what his proposed crackdown entails, while the Republican-controlled House is also considering legislation to codify into federal law a definition of antisemitism that has been criticized for equating criticism of Israel with prejudice against Jews. Of course, whatever the House passes must be approved by the Democratic-led Senate, and there’s no guarantee they’ll go along with the speaker’s plans. Expect to hear more from Congress about the protests as the day unfolds.
Joe Biden is heading from Washington DC to his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware for a campaign event at 3pm, and then back to the capital.
Will today be the day that Hamas agrees to a ceasefire deal that could see the release of Israeli hostages? Such a development may also take the heat off Biden, who has faced intensifying protests of his own for his support of Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Follow our live blog for the latest on this developing story.
Donald Trump’s trial over allegedly falsifying business records is back in session in New York City. Follow along here for the latest.
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