U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has found some unlikely common ground with Republicans in recent months, particularly on the topic of antisemitism. As pro-Palestine protesters have railed against Israel across America and around the world, the Pennsylvania Democrat has repeatedly rejected such public sentiments.
In light of growing protests on the campuses of several prominent American universities, the senator offered his endorsement of a recent Washington Post op-ed suggesting that retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) should be named the next president of Harvard University.
As an alumnus of Harvard, and after this mad season of antisemitism at Columbia, I co-sign.
This former Governor of Massachusetts doesn't need a paycheck, but Harvard and its academic peers needs to recalibrate from far-left orthodoxy. pic.twitter.com/eaT0F5VaiR
— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) April 22, 2024
Fetterman, who earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the Ivy League school 25 years ago, described it as an “almighty mess” and shared his opinion that Romney could “clean it up.”
Harvard’s most recent president stepped down amid controversy that stemmed from congressional testimony during which she refused to issue a blanket condemnation of calls for the genocide of Jews as well as allegations of plagiarism. Harvard provost Alan Garber, who also happens to be Jewish, has been serving as president on an interim basis since then.
David Rosen, who wrote the op-ed nominating Romney for the position, described Gay’s Capitol Hill appearance as “disastrous,” arguing that it showed how much “leadership matters” at such institutions.
“The university president must be the flag-bearer of our values,” he added. “There is no doubt that there are other Americans of similar standing and stature, but Romney’s unique bridge-building character is precisely what Harvard needs in an age of toxic polarization. A Harvard alumnus, he is an eloquent and experienced administrator who has consistently demonstrated his political independence in defense of what is right, rather than what is expedient.”
All 10 House Republicans representing New York signed a letter this week demanding that Columbia University President Dr. Nemat Shafik resign as that campus devolved into a hotbed of anti-Israel chaos.
“Over the past few days, anarchy has engulfed the campus of Columbia University,” they wrote. “As the leader of this institution, one of your chief objectives, morally and under law, is to ensure students have a safe learning environment. By every measure, you have failed this obligation.”
