WASHINGTON (CN) — House Republicans were quick to pat themselves on the back Tuesday as news broke that Harvard President Claudine Gay will step down from her position — marking the second resignation of a top university official since a contentious congressional hearing last month.
Gay, who has been president of the prestigious Ivy League institution for only around six months, announced her resignation amid severe backlash stemming from her December testimony before the GOP-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
As her remarks put her under the public microscope, Gay also faced allegations that she had plagiarized parts of her published academic work — an independent university investigation found just minor discrepancies.
The Harvard president and the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology faced sharp questions during the Dec. 5, 2023, hearing about pro-Palestine protests and other activity organized by university students amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which some lawmakers have framed as anti-Semitism.
New York Republican Elise Stefanik asked Gay whether calling for the genocide of Jewish people violates Harvard’s bullying and harassment standards. Gay replied that “if the context in which that language is used” amounts to bullying or harassment, then the university would act.
The Harvard president’s response to that broad line of questioning, and similar remarks made by the other university officials, have drawn harsh criticism from some who argue that they had refused to condemn anti-Semitism. Gay has since apologized.
Despite that, backlash to the December hearing caused Liz McGill, president of the University of Pennsylvania, to step down from her position just days after the hearing. MIT President Sally Kornbluth has so far avoided significant repercussions.
With Gay’s resignation Tuesday, the refrain among House Republicans was “two down, one to go.”
“The resignation of Claudine Gay is long overdue,” wrote Utah Representative Burgess Owens in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Antisemitism is raging nationwide, and we need campus leaders that stand up for Jewish students.”
South Carolina Representative Ralph Norman, who called Gay “a total disgrace to her profession,” also cast aspersions on Harvard’s board, which backed the university president last month. Norman argued that the board “defended [Gay] to the hilt and share the blame for the irreparable damage done to that university.”
Stefanik, who chairs the House GOP conference, took some credit for Gay’s ouster, writing in a statement that she “will always deliver results.”
The New York Republican doubled down on her criticism of Gay’s December testimony, calling it “absolutely pathetic and devoid of the moral leadership and academic integrity required of the President of Harvard.”
Stefanik added that the president’s resignation was “just the beginning,” and joined her colleagues in taking aim at Harvard’s board members.
“They are complicit in covering up this massive scandal with unbelievable arrogance and cavalier attitudes that irreparably damaged [Harvard’s] academic integrity and moral leadership,” she wrote.
Senate Republicans also took to social media Tuesday to hail Gay’s ouster.
“Harvard should be ashamed,” wrote Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, “and should do much, much better with its next choice for president.”
Florida Senator Rick Scott argued that Gay’s resignation was “good, but not enough,” pointing out that the former Harvard president would keep a faculty position at the university. “That’s not okay,” he said.
Gay’s resignation was first reported Tuesday afternoon by The Crimson, Harvard’s student-run daily publication.
In a resignation letter published by the university shortly thereafter, Gay called her decision to step down “difficult beyond words,” but said she and Harvard’s board agreed it was in the university’s best interest for her to resign, “so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual.”
Gay addressed criticism over her December testimony, as well as the plagiarism allegations, writing that she found it “distressing to have doubts cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor.” The former university president added that she had been targeted by personal attacks and threats “fueled by racial animus.”
In a separate statement published Tuesday, Harvard’s board again defended Gay, thanking her for her time as president and for “her deep and unwavering commitment to Harvard.”
“While President Gay has acknowledged missteps and has taken responsibility for them,” the board members wrote, “it is also true that she had shown remarkable resilience in the face of deeply personal and sustained attacks.”
Alan Garber, Harvard’s chief academic officer, will step in as interim university president until a permanent successor is selected.
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