Republicans claim victory for Harvard president's resignation

Republican lawmakers welcomed Harvard University president Claudine Gay’s resignation after weeks of calling for her to step down over her response to antisemitism on campus — and her testimony on the topic at a fiery House hearing in December.

Gay’s resignation letter was published to the Harvard University website on Tuesday afternoon.

“TWO DOWN. @Harvard knows that this long overdue forced resignation of the antisemitic plagiarist president is just the beginning of what will be the greatest scandal of any college or university in history,” said GOP conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik on X, formerly Twitter.

Gay is the second college president to step down since the Dec. 5 hearing of the House Education and Workforce Committee investigating schools' responses to antisemitism following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill stepped down four days after the hearing.

Stefanik’s grilling of Gay during her appearance before the committee intensified public scrutiny of the now former university president, who also faces accusations of plagiarism.

In response to questions by Stefanik, Gay said that calling for genocide of Jews may or may not violate university rules on bullying and harassment “depending on the context.” Though Gay later apologized, these comments sparked sharp criticism from Congress, the Harvard community and the public, and fueled calls for her resignation.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also weighed in, writing on social media that "the resignation of Claudine Gay is overdue."

"Antisemitism has no place on campus — or anywhere in America," he added.

Other Republicans echoed Stefanik and Johnson's reactions: “This is the right move. Our university leaders have gone full-on woke and harbor anti-Semitism on campuses. Many should step down,” wrote Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs.

“She was a total disgrace to her profession,” said South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman.