Dem lawmaker accuses Stefanik of ripping off Harvard letter

A Democratic lawmaker is accusing Rep. Elise Stefanik of ripping off her draft of a letter condemning university presidents for their evasive comments about antisemitism, alleging that the New York Republican lifted whole passages of text and used them in another message calling on the campus bosses to resign.

Rep. Kathy Manning, a North Carolina Democrat, was originally working with Stefanik on a joint message denouncing the presidents of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania for their testimony in Congress last week, after the two Harvard graduates spoke on the House floor. They’re both members of the Education and Workforce committee, and their offices collaborated on a draft letter, according to Manning spokesperson Gia Scirrotto and an email chain between the offices that was reviewed by POLITICO.

But the partnership fell apart when Stefanik insisted on using the message to demand that the university presidents quit their posts — a step too far for Manning, according to the emails reviewed by POLITICO.

Stefanik went ahead and used language drafted by Manning’s staff anyway, according to Scirrotto, and published the letter Friday without Manning’s signature. Scirrotto called it “unfortunate” that “Rep. Stefanik chose to take our language and use it as her own.”

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, published after POLITICO approached Stefanik’s office for comment, Stefanik said her office had gone in “different directions with two separate versions of the letter when Rep. Manning did not want to call for the firing of the presidents among other significant edits she refused to accept. This is something that happens everyday on Capitol Hill.”

The two letters differ in their demands of the university boards of trustees but feature nearly identical language in the first few paragraphs of the letters and in certain sections. The Manning-led letter, which was signed by Democrats and sent earlier Friday, expresses concern about the presidents’ testimony and asks for the universities to revise their codes of conduct. The Stefanik-led one, which was signed by Republicans and a handful of Democrats, called for the presidents’ removal.

For example, they both begin: “On October 7th we witnessed Hamas terrorists perpetrate the deadliest attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. In the weeks since, there has been an explosion of antisemitic incidents in the United States and around the world. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has recorded 1,481 antisemitic incidents — 292 of which occurred on college and university campuses — a nearly 300% increase relative to the same period last year.”

A paragraph later in the Manning-led letter also bears similarities.

“There is no context in which calls for the genocide of Jews is acceptable rhetoric. While Harvard and Penn subsequently issued clarifying statements which were appreciated, their failure to unequivocally condemn calls for the systematic murder of Jews during the public hearing is deeply alarming and stands in stark contrast to the principles we expect leaders of top academic institutions to uphold. It is hard to imagine any Jewish or Israeli student, faculty, or staff, feeling safe when your presidents could not say that calls for the genocide of Jews would have clear consequences on your campus.”