‘These university presidents need to get control,’, McConnell says

Apr 29, 2024

A person is detained by police as pro-Palestinian students protest the Israel-Hamas war on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, on April 24, 2024.

A person is detained by police as pro-Palestinian students protest the Israel-Hamas war on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, on April 24, 2024. | Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images

FREEDOM TO QUELL PROTESTS — A host of Republicans want to deploy the National Guard to stop anti-war protests on college campuses. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is not one of them.

— McConnell on Sunday declined to call for troops to intervene in student demonstrations spreading across the country’s biggest higher education institutions, suggesting instead that campus leaders figure out the problem on their own.

— “What needs to happen, at least at the beginning, is these university presidents need to get control of the situation, allow free speech and push back against antisemitism,” McConnell said Sunday during a pre-taped interview that aired on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

— So far, many presidents are approving the use of force. Armed authorities continued to sweep through encampments and demonstration sites through the weekend to arrest scores of protestors gathered at public and private institutions amid growing alarm from civil liberties and academic organizations.

— Police crackdowns could continue to inflame unrest during the looming final exam and commencement season. That dynamic is not only challenging lawmakers who cemented campus free speech protections in recent years, but also creating a political test for laws and legal doctrines honed during the Civil Rights era and the Vietnam War.

— Now higher education officials are forced to balance their obligations to free expression with the legal authority they possess to limit defiant disruptions.

— The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression slammed University of Texas authorities for what the free speech advocacy group described as the “outrageous and unnecessary use of riot police” to disperse demonstrators, a decision the group said marked a violation of the institution’s obligations to the First Amendment and state law.

— Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ spokesperson weighed in to support free speech and the right to protest as police cleared encampments from Arizona State University’s campus in Tempe. “None of these actions are in line with our nation’s free speech principles,” Indiana’s branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said after police arrested dozens of demonstrators at the state’s flagship campus.

— “We should all speak out when protest crosses a line, when it becomes violent or when there's hate speech,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said on Fox News Sunday. “But 95 percent of the young people who are on these campuses are there because they believe there is a fundamental injustice being perpetrated in Israel. We should protect their right to peacefully protest.”

— It is difficult to envision any end in sight while the Israel-Gaza war grinds on.

— “Let’s see if these university presidents can get control of the situation,” McConnell said. “They ought to be able to do that. Civil discussion is what college education is supposed to be about. I’d be interested in hearing the antisemitic people explain the justification for that kind of talk.”

IT’S MONDAY, APRIL 29. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. President Joe Biden is scrambling to fund his cancer moonshot and its goal of cutting the death rate by half — an aim that’s no longer a bipartisan priority. The spending package Congress passed in March doesn’t reup moonshot money that dried up at the end of last year.

Reach out with tips to today’s host at jperez@politico.com and also my colleagues Bianca Quilantan (bquilantan@politico.com) and Mackenzie Wilkes (mwilkes@politico.com).

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FOR YOUR RADAR

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview, Sept. 20, 2023, in Washington. | Mark Schiefelbein/AP

HAPPENING THIS WEEK — Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is scheduled to defend the president’s education budget to the Senate Labor-H subcommittee on Tuesday as turmoil over campus conflicts and fallout spreads from the department’s botched rollout of a new federal student aid application.

— Now a top administration official is leaving his post.

— Rich Cordray, the Biden administration’s top student loan official, will leave the Education Department at the end of June as the administration scrambles to recover from delayed college financial aid offers for millions of families this spring.

— Cardona’s testimony comes after the secretary declared earlier this month “there’s nothing more important right now” at the department than addressing the rocky debut of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid amid bipartisan rebuke in Congress

— Cordray will also be leaving as the Education Department faces pressure over the coming months to deliver on Biden’s aspirations to cancel student debt for tens of millions of Americans before the November election.

TEACHERS’ NIGHT OUT — First Lady Jill Biden is scheduled to honor the country’s educators with a formal “Teachers of the Year State Dinner” at the White House on Thursday, a first-of-its-kind event that comes as the president’s reelection campaign taps the country’s school workers to get out the vote.

— The event will recognize the 2024 National Teacher of the Year, Missy Testerman of Tennessee. The Education Department, Council of Chief State School Officers, American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association are co-hosting.

— The first lady earlier this month underscored the partisan battle over schooling and young people during a union-led rally that showcased how the president’s campaign hopes to marshal educators to fundraise, mobilize voters and sharpen the Democratic Party’s response to conservative education policy.

Higher Education

INTERNATIONAL FLORIDA — A University of Florida professor and two Chinese Florida International University students have sued to block a state law that bans local universities from “agreements” with people from “a country of concern.” This includes China, Iran, Venezuela, Syria, Russia, North Korea and Cuba.

— Critics warn the law will have far-reaching effects on Florida’s higher education system, POLITICO’s Siena Duncan reports, by weakening the quality of research the university can produce and — in the words of one member — creating a “culture of fear” among students and researchers who are from the targeted countries.

— The policy is one plank of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ extensive campaign to limit China’s political sway and investments in the state, with the governor often citing national security concerns.

— “We are following through on our commitment to crack down on Communist China,” DeSantis said when he signed the law, SB 846, last year. DeSantis spokesperson Julia Friedland said the governor’s office still believes “the law is constitutional”.

DISCIPLINING PROTESTORS — Colleges across the country are suspending students after their arrests at pro-Palestinian demonstrations to calm growing campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war, The Associated Press reports.

— Such discipline has become a central part of protests, with students and a growing number of faculty demanding amnesty for sanctioned students.

— The issue is whether universities and law enforcement will clear the charges and withhold other consequences, or whether the suspensions and legal records will follow students into their adult lives.

Report Roundup

— Afterschool program providers are “very concerned about their future sustainability” as federal pandemic relief funds begin to expire, according to a recent report from the Afterschool Alliance. Survey data suggest more than half of providers have waiting lists of students they cannot serve, and 27 percent are still not able to operate at pre-pandemic levels. The organization said 81 percent of afterschool program leaders are also concerned about finding or retaining staff, or both.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

— The Harvard Graduate School of Education has named Nonie Lesaux as its interim dean. Lesaux replaces Bridget Long, who is stepping down at the end of the academic year.

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Syllabus

— Millions of American kids are caregivers now: ‘The hardest part is that I’m only 17’: The Wall Street Journal

— Louisiana will no longer require students to fill out FAFSA to graduate: The New York Times

— The losing battle to beat antisemitism in the Age of Misinformation: POLITICO Magazine

— Why encampments scare college presidents: The Chronicle of Higher Education

— Biden administration faces pressure to step up its response to antisemitic incidents on campuses: NBC News

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