United States Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) was appointed chair of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce on Dec. 12, 2024.
Credit: Jesse ZhangPenn will likely face continued congressional scrutiny over allegations of antisemitism as United States Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) takes the helm as chair of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Walberg — who was selected as the committee's chair in December 2024 — has been outspoken about campus antisemitism and cited “continuing to protect Jewish students on college campuses” as one of his main priorities. He replaced Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), the two-term chair who conducted numerous investigations into Penn following former Penn President Liz Magill's testimony before the committee in December 2023.
Walberg is currently serving his ninth term in the House of Representatives and served 16 years on the Committee on Education and Workforce. In a press release announcing his new role, Walberg wrote, "The American people have given us a mandate to enact meaningful change and ensure future generations will succeed.”
“We have significant work ahead of us, from enshrining protections for parents to continuing to protect Jewish students on college campuses to rights providing more opportunity and flexibility to American workers,” Walberg wrote. “Freedom, opportunity, and fairness will guide our work as we deliver results for America. Let’s get to work!”
The Committee on Education and Workforce’s section of the December 2024 House Antisemitism Report, included recommendations to push several universities — including Penn, Columbia University, and Harvard University — to take greater steps in response to campus antisemitism. The report also advocated for escalated pressure on universities to “impose meaningful discipline” in response to antisemitic incidents and to increase the transparency of these responses.
The report included recommendations for higher education legislation, including the removal of Title IV eligibility from universities that divest from Israel, increased oversight of university relationships with foreign entities, and measures to lower the cost of higher education.
Walberg participated in the December 2023 congressional hearing that resulted in the resignations of Magill and former Harvard President Claudine Gay. During the hearing, Walberg responded to Gay's opening statement in which she called knowledge the cure to antisemitism and said “the cure to antisemitism is not simply knowledge … it’s truth.”
In July 2024, Walberg and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) were the lead authors of a letter — along with 26 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives — to Interim Harvard President Alan Garber, arguing that the preliminary recommendations of Harvard’s Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism were not sufficient enough in their protection of Jewish students.
The letter urged Garber to implement the Antisemitism Advisory Group's stronger recommendations — which included “zero tolerance” for classroom disruptions and greater accountability for student organizations that break university rules — and to end Harvard’s relationship with Palestine’s Birzeit University.
In his time in Congress, Walberg has advocated to simplify financial aid and reduce the cost of college. In 2023, he co-sponsored the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act, which would allow the use of Pell grants for students in some short-term education programs. The bill stalled in the 118th Congress, but Walberg — who believes it will positively impact short-term education and industry — will likely fight for it during his time as chair.
He has also emphasized the link between higher education and workforce success as a main facet of his agenda as chair, which he says will involve a collaboration with the Department of Labor to steer education toward preparing students for employment.
In a statement, Foxx praised Walberg as a “collaborative, effective, and hardworking member of the Committee.”
“Tim has been a lifelong fighter for education and literacy and truly believes in helping every American reach his or her God-given potential,” Foxx wrote. “I have no doubt that he’ll hit the ground running and will work tirelessly to ensure students have the opportunity to learn and workers have the ability to succeed.”
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