After a messy Senate markup last week, Hill Republicans are facing a real struggle to pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
The bipartisan bill made it through the House during the 118th Congress, passing by a 320-91 margin. More than 130 Democrats backed the measure, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other party leaders.
But there was concern on both the left and right over how antisemitism was defined in the legislation, and the measure stalled out in the Senate.
Now, with the Trump administration escalating its attacks on educational institutions and visa holders under the banner of fighting antisemitism, Democrats are leery of giving their support to the legislation.
And once again, it’s not just Democrats who have issues with the proposal, which directs the Department of Education to utilize a specific definition of antisemitism when investigating anti-Jewish hate acts on college campuses.
During a contentious Senate HELP Committee markup on Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) joined with the panel’s Democrats to adopt a number of amendments that imperiled the bill’s status in the GOP-controlled Senate. The most prominent amendment stated that criticism of Israel isn’t antisemitic.
The issues don’t stop there. Senate HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) inserted a manager’s amendment intended to address right-wing Christian concerns that the bill impeded on their free speech to allege Jews killed Jesus. But since the markup adjourned last week without a final vote, that amendment hasn’t been adopted yet.
What’s next: Cassidy on Thursday pledged to come back to vote again to advance the legislation out of committee. HELP Committee Republicans are working through logistics to find a time in the panel’s busy schedule to reconsider the issue. But if Paul continues to side with Democrats, there aren’t enough votes to pass the measure.
The House could move forward with the act. But there are concerns that progressive Democrats, combined with the Christian conservative opposition, could pose roadblocks.
Ahead of the Senate markup, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) urged Democrats to oppose the bill. Raskin voted for the bill last Congress but now says the package will help “Trump’s further transparent moves to undermine American democracy.”
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) said on Friday that President Donald Trump’s “use of antisemitism as a pretext and abuse of the First Amendment” is hindering efforts to pass the bill.
More right-wing backlash: Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Sunday they’d oppose Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-N.Y.) bill to penalize international governmental organizations from boycotting Israel. After conservatives rallied against the legislation, House Republican leadership removed the bill from this week’s floor schedule.
