The Republican members of the House Education and Workforce Committee are urging Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to craft regulations meant to combat antisemitism in compliance with a Trump-era executive order.
In a letter to Cardona on Monday, the 25 GOP members of the committee, which is led by Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), noted that while the executive order to combat antisemitism was enacted in December 2019, the department has repeatedly delayed efforts to enact regulations in line with the order's directives.
US STEEL SOLD TO JAPANESE RIVAL IN $14 BILLION DEAL
"A full four years after the signing of the EO, the Department has not issued even a proposed rule, pushing this down the line as well," the letter said. "To be clear: not only has the Department failed to meet its obligation to create rules necessary for the execution of the EO, but it is also delaying any such action by another year. This is particularly egregious in the face of increased anti-Jewish hatred sweeping across American schools and college campuses which deserves action from the Department now, not later."
Then-President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13899 on Dec. 11, 2019, directing federal agencies to enforce nondiscrimination law under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to include discrimination against Jews.
"It shall be the policy of the executive branch to enforce Title VI against prohibited forms of discrimination rooted in anti-Semitism as vigorously as against all other forms of discrimination prohibited by Title VI," the order read.
The issue of antisemitism on college campuses has drawn increased scrutiny since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people. Pro-Palestinian student groups and some faculty members at several major universities have gone so far as to suggest that Israel was responsible for the attacks. In the subsequent months, Jewish students have reported that they face an increasingly hostile environment on college campuses.
In their letter to Cardona, House Republicans ripped the secretary for "inaction on necessary and defensible rulemaking," which they said "has left institutions of higher education and schools unprepared for and unwilling to address the fires of antisemitism that have swept campuses this fall."
"Letters sent to your Department from Jewish groups and concerned Americans across the country have gone unanswered, and the Committee receives calls and emails daily from parents and students reporting antisemitism at their schools," the lawmakers wrote. "You claim to take the fears of Jewish students seriously, but your words are undercut by your failure to address those fears through the Department's regulatory process."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The letter urges Cardona to "stop delaying implementation of the EO" and propose a regulation to conform with its directives.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Department of Education for comment.