Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) warned Tuesday that cuts to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights could undermine efforts to protect Jewish students amid a surge of antisemitic incidents on college campuses.

During a hearing about the Education Department budget on Tuesday with Secretary Linda McMahon, Capito raised concerns about the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, citing protests at Columbia University and a lack of presence from OCR. 

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“Your budget proposes to decrease the Office of Civil Rights. This is not a problem that is going away on our college campuses, we see it now, we get a little bit of a break now that it’s summer,” Capito said. “How are you going to make sure that the department is going to ensure all students, and in this case, all Jewish students, are able to learn in an environment free from intimidation?” she asked McMahon.

McMahon responded by defending the administration’s actions, noting her personal meetings with Columbia’s leadership and stating that the department has taken meaningful steps, including opening multiple civil rights investigations and defunding programs at Columbia and Harvard. 

McMahon emphasized the need for universities to enforce their own rules.

“I believe in how we can solve some of these issues. They have to set their policies and their priorities, and they have to enforce them,” she explained. “They can’t allow encampments on campuses. They can’t allow students to come on dressed with masks so that you can’t identify these students.”

Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks against Israel by Hamas, the OCR has played a key role in addressing complaints from Jewish and pro-Israel students who say they’ve faced bias in the wake of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus. The office has launched numerous inquiries tied to Israel-related incidents.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to shut down the Education Department completely, saying its power should be turned over to states. Recent layoffs and budget proposals have had a major effect on OCR’s workforce. 

As of early 2025, OCR employed approximately 562 staff members. The agency recently cut OCR’s workforce in half as part of mass layoffs. The reductions also included the closure of seven of the office’s twelve regional offices. A new budget proposal would also cut $49 million from the office, a 35% reduction from fiscal 2024 levels.

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McMahon argued that the department is serious about combating campus antisemitism, noting it has opened numerous civil rights investigations into antisemitism and is actively enforcing them.

Capito agreed with McMahon’s stance on combating antisemitism but expressed concern that deep budget cuts to OCR could leave the department under-resourced, making it harder to effectively investigate and enforce civil rights protections.

“My concern is, by cutting so much out of that particular — you’re one person, you need the support and the backup of that office to be able to investigate these cases,” Capito said.