The Trump administration has put antisemitism on college campuses in the spotlight.
But during a Wednesday House hearing, lawmakers appeared divided on a concrete clear path forward to protect Jewish students.
They questioned university leaders on Capitol Hill Wednesday about antisemitism and protests on their campuses over the war in Gaza.
The presidents from Haverford College in Pennsylvania, DePaul University in Illinois and California Polytechnic State University appeared before the House Education Committee.
Antisemitism is on the rise in the U.S., up 5% from 2023 to 2024 according to the Anti-Defamation League, a pro-Israel advocacy group.
It found one in five antisemitic incidents took place on college campuses last year.
The Trump administration has highlighted that as one reason it's targeting universities and pulling federal funding.
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But Democrats on the committee said the White House's actions and cuts to the Department of Education could lead to more antisemitism and discrimination.
"Republicans have called this hearing on antisemitism, but they've cut back our ability to fight hate crimes, cut back our ability to protect synagogues, cut back our ability to protect students from discrimination," Texas Rep. Greg Casar said.
The Trump administration's new budget proposal includes major cuts to the Office of Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination on campuses.
American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell calls that ironic.
"The way that one makes a complaint of antisemitism is to the Office of Civil Rights. And if there's nobody there to answer the phone, these things are just going to clog the system," Mitchell said.
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