United States Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) announced on April 9 that she will rejoin House Republican leadership.
Credit: Anna VazhaeparambilUnited States Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), whose questioning of former Penn President Liz Magill during a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism led to Magill’s resignation, has returned to her post in the House of Representatives after previously being tapped to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Stefanik was named “Chairwoman of House Republican Leadership” by House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on April 9 and will return to her posts on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Armed Services Committee, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
“I am honored to be appointed Chairwoman of House Republican Leadership to lead House Republicans in implementing President Donald Trump's mandate from the American people for an America First agenda that includes securing our borders, strengthening our national security, growing our economy, and combating the scourge of antisemitism across our country,” Stefanik wrote in a post on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, about her appointment.
On March 31, Pro-Palestinian student organizers held a Land Day rally — which also protested an event at Penn Hillel that featured Israeli actress and activist Noa Tishby and two survivors of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. In response to a video of the demonstration, Stefanik wrote in a post on X that, “U.S. taxpayer dollars will not prop up colleges and universities who fail to protect Jewish students on campus."
“Higher education has absolutely failed,” Stefanik said in the message posted on her personal account. “DEFUND.”
The appointment comes after 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump announced Stefanik’s nomination as U.S. ambassador to the UN shortly after his reelection to the presidency. In March, the Trump administration pulled Stefanik’s nomination from the position.
Trump cited slim margins in the House as the reason for Stefanik’s withdrawal, writing that it is “essential that we maintain EVERY Republican Seat in Congress” in a Truth Social post.
Stefanik — first elected to the House in 2014 — represents a rural portion of upstate New York. In her previous capacity as a member of House Committee on Education and the Workforce she spearheaded an investigation into how universities, including Penn, responded to campus antisemitism.
In a December 2023 hearing of the committee, Stefanik repeatedly asked Magill — as well as former Harvard University President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth — if a call for the genocide of Jewish people would violate Penn’s policies or code of conduct, citing calls for “Intifada revolution” as an example.
Magill responded that “if the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment.”
Following Stefanik’s repeated questioning, Magill stated that a call for the genocide of Jews would constitute harassment “if it is directed, and severe or pervasive,” later adding that it would be “a context-dependent decision.”
Magill received harsh criticism for her testimony from Penn community members and elected officials. Days after the hearing, Magill resigned alongside University Board of Trustees Chair Scott Bok.
“One down. Two to go,” Stefanik wrote following the resignations. “This is only the beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has destroyed the most ‘prestigious’ higher education institutions in America.”
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