Hawley, Cotton call on Biden to deploy National Guard over Gaza protests at colleges
GOP Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Tom Cotton (Ark.) called on President Biden on Monday to deploy the National Guard to colleges, particularly Columbia University in New York City, where pro-Palestinian protesters have staged sit-ins and other disruptive activities to focus public attention on the war.
“Eisenhower sent the 101st to Little Rock. It’s time for Biden to call out the National Guard at our universities to protect Jewish Americans,” Hawley posted on the social platform X.
He was referring to former President Eisenhower’s decision to call in the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Ark., in 1957 to ensure the safety of nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School.
Then-Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus (D) had ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround the school to prevent the nine students from integrating the school in the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, which struck down "separate but equal" segregation as unconstitutional.
Cotton called on the Biden administration to “break up” the pro-Palestinian groups on Columbia’s campus if New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) fails to take control of the situation by deploying the New York National Guard.
“The nascent pogroms at Columbia have to stop TODAY, before our Jewish brethren sit for Passover Seder tonight. If Eric Adams won’t send the NYPD and Kathy Hochul won’t send the National Guard, Joe Biden has a duty to take charge and break up these mobs,” Cotton posted on X.
Cotton’s call for the National Guard or federal troops to intervene on Columbia’s campus is reminiscent of his call for then-President Trump to “send in the troops” to break up protests that spread across the country after George Floyd’s murder in 2020.
Cotton in a New York Times op-ed suggested invoking the Insurrection Act to restore order, warning: “These rioters, if not subdued, not only will destroy the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens but will also take more innocent lives.”
“In these circumstances, the Insurrection Act authorizes the president to employ the military ‘or any other means’ in ‘cases of insurrection, or obstruction of the laws,’” Cotton argued at the time.
Columbia, where swelling protests have drawn national attention, announced Monday it would hold classes remotely to defuse the tense situation on campus.
Students protesting against the war in Gaza, including Jewish students, have set up camp on Columbia’s central lawn and have demanded the university divest from companies that are profiting from the war.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik last week called in the New York City Police Department to break up the tent encampment, resulting in more than 100 arrests, and the university has also suspended some students, but those actions did little to quell the protests.
The demonstrations have spread to other universities, such as Yale in Connecticut, where police arrested more than 45 demonstrators Monday.
Date: | |
Tag: | Joe Biden |
Filter
-
President Biden condemns violence at college campus protests
President Biden spoke Thursday about the protests against the war in Gaza on college campuses across the country, condemning the violence. When asked if the protests would lead to changes in U.S. policy toward Israel, Biden said they would not. He ...CBS News - Top stories - Joe Biden -
Trinity College Dublin's students' union fined €214k over protests
TCD issues fine over loss of income as a result of recent blockades of a tourist attraction.BBC News - Top stories - College Football -
Crackdowns on campus protests over war in Gaza continue
There was another crackdown on a protest over the war in Gaza Thursday night as police cleared an occupied library at Oregon's Portland State University. New video shows damage and graffiti inside the building. According to the Associated Press, ...CBS News - Top stories -
Colleges prep for commencement as over 2,000 people arrested at US protests
More than 2,000 people have been arrested on college and university campuses since April 18, as a wave of pro-Palestinian protests ripples across the US. Follow for live updates. Follow for live updates.CNN - Top stories -
Fetterman mocks students protesting on college campuses over Houthi offer
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) mocked the students protesting on college campuses after a report was released stating a Houthi-run university in Yemen will offer slots to those suspended at U.S. universities. “If a homicidal, Iranian-funded, ...The Hill - Politics
More from The Hill
-
‘America First’ conservatives aren’t putting American workers first
We know these senators aren’t on the side of the American worker, which begs the question — whose side are they on? The answer is obvious: people and corporations with money.The Hill - Politics -
Education secretary condemns 'abhorrent' antisemitic incidents on campus
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona sent a letter Friday to college and university presidents condemning what he called “abhorrent” antisemitic incidents on campus, the latest response from the Biden administration to the ongoing nationwide ...The Hill - Politics -
Chris Christie: ‘More likely than not’ Stephen A. Smith runs for president
Former GOP presidential candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie claimed that its “more likely than not” that sports commentator Stephen A. Smith runs for president in the future. “I don’t think it’s imminent, but will he run someday? I think ...The Hill - Politics -
White House shakes up its immigration team
The White House is shaking up its roster of immigration advisers, bringing in a top border enforcement policy leader and a development expert to round out its team. Blas Nuñez-Neto comes to the White House from the Department of Homeland Security ...The Hill - Politics -
Jean-Pierre: 'Admirable' for UNC students to hold up American flag during campus protest
The White House on Friday praised the actions of a group of University of North Carolina students who held up the American flag at a protest on campus over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked during a ...The Hill - Politics