The Truth with Lisa Boothe: Elise Stefanik on Iran War, Campus Radicalism & Why Americans Are Leaving Blue States

Summary

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Podcast Summary

The Truth with Lisa Boothe: Elise Stefanik on Iran War, Campus Radicalism & Why Americans Are Leaving Blue States

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show (iHeartPodcasts) – March 26, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Lisa Boothe interviews Congresswoman Elise Stefanik about her new book, "Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America's Elite Universities." They discuss the war with Iran, anti-Semitism and radicalism on college campuses, the exodus from New York, and the controversy around political leadership in blue states. Stefanik offers a behind-the-scenes look at her viral confrontations with Ivy League presidents and shares her perspectives on national security, higher education, and American politics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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1. War with Iran and Public Sentiment

[05:19 - 07:28]

• Polling and Policy:
  • Boothe notes the war is unpopular in early polling.
  • Stefanik insists national security “should not be decided by polling” and highlights Iran as a persistent threat:

    "This is the largest state sponsor of terrorism. It has led to the deaths directly of Americans over the past decades." (Elise Stefanik, 05:46)

  • Emphasizes support among military families and overwhelming backing among Republican voters.
• National Security Perspective:
  • Praises President Trump’s approach to Iran, calling it “militarily extremely successful.”
  • Expresses faith in Trump to focus on domestic issues such as energy prices alongside national security.

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2. Economic Concerns & The Blue State Exodus

[07:28 - 11:02]

• Energy Prices and Taxes:
  • Boothe interrogates whether war shifts Republican priorities away from affordability.
  • Stefanik argues Trump improved the economy and gave “the largest tax cut in history,” especially benefiting high-tax states like New York.
• Wealth Flight from New York:
  • Notes high earners and working-class families both leaving due to “economic policies that are running them out of the state.”

    “It's not because of the weather. It's not because they don't love New York. It’s because of the economic policies.” (Elise Stefanik, 09:22)

  • Predicts continued brain drain, loss of businesses, and dwindling Congressional clout for New York.

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3. Stefanik's Political Decisions

[11:02 - 13:02]

• Withdrawing from Races:
  • Addresses decision to step away from 2026 gubernatorial and congressional races:

    “I was very clear that I don’t think these positions were imagined by the founders to be lifelong ... For me, I’ve been proud to keep my promises ... But I also have a four year old and those are critical years.” (Elise Stefanik, 11:19)

  • Acknowledges tough environment for Republicans in New York and cites family as a driving factor.

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4. Campus Radicalism, Anti-Semitism, and 'Poisoned Ivies'

[16:23 - 38:29]

a. The Columbia/NYC Political Connection

[17:12 - 20:21]

• Stefanik condemns the media’s failure to challenge city leaders on radical views or spouse’s social media activity.
• Argues that radical campus activists and local politicians share roots in academia’s far-left “Petri dish.”

b. Viral Ivy League Hearing

[20:21 - 22:16]

• Recounts her congressional questioning that went viral, asking if “calling for the genocide of Jews” violates university conduct rules:

  “That should have been a yes answer without hesitation. ... The fact that these university presidents were so out of touch ... encapsulated just what’s so wrong with higher education.” (Elise Stefanik, 20:34)

c. Drivers of Campus Anti-Semitism

[22:16 - 25:36]

• Faculty Ideology:
  • Reports “80 to 1” liberal-to-conservative faculty ratio in humanities.
• Foreign Dollars:
  • Focuses on Qatar ($1.2 billion/year) and China backing U.S. institutions.
  • Critiques admissions favoring foreign students to the detriment of Americans.

    “In Columbia, you have upwards of 40% of students who are foreign ... Many of the kind of leaders of the ... riots ... were those foreign students on foreign visas.” (Elise Stefanik, 22:30)

• Administrative Bloat & DEI:
  • DEI offices accused of anti-Semitism and neglecting Jewish students.
• Policy Solutions:
  • Describes Trump administration reforms and Congressional action to address these issues.

d. Transparency & Accountability

[26:05 - 27:24]

• Loopholes allowed foreign funding to go undisclosed; recent legislation now mandates transparency.
• Stefanik describes congressional efforts to “close up” these loopholes:

  “That loophole has now been closed up. ... The more we talk about this ... is going to wake up the American people and policymakers.” (Elise Stefanik, 26:05)

e. Federal Funding as Leverage

[27:24 - 29:24]

• Major elite universities receive “over a billion dollars annually” from taxpayers but “are not entitled to those funds” if they don’t protect civil rights.
• Trump administration used threat of defunding to force change:

  “The biggest tool we have is taxpayer dollars ... If they are not complying with civil rights laws, then, then they need to be defunded.” (Elise Stefanik, 27:42)

• Stefanik worries a future Democratic administration could reverse progress.

f. Should Elite Schools Get Federal Money?

[29:24 - 30:58]

• Boothe questions why schools with massive endowments still receive federal funding.
• Stefanik suggests considering clawbacks and removal of tax perks for universities:

  “Many things are not right when you consider where higher education institutions are ... and yet they continue to, you know, screw the American taxpayers.” (Elise Stefanik, 29:39)

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5. Inclusion, DEI, and Academic Freedom

[34:09 - 38:23]

• Inclusion “Except for Jewish Students”:
  • Boothe: Universities claim inclusivity, but not for Jews or conservatives.
  • Stefanik:

    “You don’t even have to be conservative to be out of the norm. Now it’s like if you’re common sense and independent and not a socialist, that makes you out of the norm at some of these institutions.” (Elise Stefanik, 34:19)

• Free Speech Double Standard:
  • Stefanik recounts being purged from Harvard’s board for her political speech post-Jan. 6.
  • Notes efforts to revoke degrees from prominent Republicans.
• Rise of Alternatives:
  • Families looking at new alternatives: Vanderbilt, UF, University of Austin, Teal Fellowships, entrepreneurial paths.
• DEI Regimes:
  • DEI practices characterized as “anti-Semitic, anti-American,” undermining meritocracy:

    “DEI at its core is anti Semitic, it’s anti American and it’s led to this shift away from merit based opportunities.” (Elise Stefanik, 36:52)

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6. Closing Thoughts & Book Promotion

[38:23 - 39:10]

• Stefanik announces publication date for "Poisoned Ivies" (April 14).
• Encourages readers concerned about the direction of elite universities, national security, or educational policy to get the book:

  “If you watch that hearing, if you’re concerned about American education ... this book really lays out what is happening at these ... elite schools.” (Elise Stefanik, 38:29)

• Lisa Boothe thanks Stefanik for her time and leadership.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “National security should not be decided by polling.” (Elise Stefanik, 07:09)
• “It's not just high earners that are leaving, Lisa. ... These high taxes are extraordinarily painful. They hurt the working class in New York.” (Elise Stefanik, 09:22)
• “The fact that these university presidents were so out of touch, I think it encapsulated just what’s so wrong with higher education.” (Elise Stefanik, 20:34)
• “Faculty tenure, we have to figure out a way to address that academic laziness ... academic monoculture and groupthink.” (Elise Stefanik, 22:30)
• “DEI at its core is anti Semitic, it’s anti American and it’s led to this shift away from merit based opportunities.” (Elise Stefanik, 36:52)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening & Episode Purpose: [03:38]
• Iran War & Public Sentiment: [05:19 – 07:28]
• Blue State Exodus & Taxes: [08:58 – 11:02]
• Stefanik’s Withdrawal from 2026 Races: [11:02 – 13:02]
• Poisoned Ivies & Campus Radicalism: [16:23 – 20:21]
• Viral Ivy League Hearing Recap: [20:21 – 22:16]
• Exploring Drivers of Campus Anti-Semitism: [22:16 – 25:36]
• Foreign Funding Loopholes Closed: [26:05 – 27:24]
• Defunding Non-Compliant Universities: [27:24 – 29:24]
• Should Elite Schools Get Federal Money?: [29:24 – 30:58]
• DEI & Inclusion Double Standards: [34:09 – 38:23]
• Book Closing & Takeaways: [38:23 – 39:10]

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Tone & Style

The conversation is candid, urgent, and deeply critical of current higher education leadership and blue state economic policies. Both speakers speak plainly, offering personal anecdotes, legislative details, and pointed critiques wrapped in a tone of moral concern and conservative activism.

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For listeners who haven’t heard the episode:
This episode gives insight into the intersection of American politics, education reform, and culture, through the lens of one of the leading conservative voices in Congress. Stefanik connects campus radicalism to national policy, offering vivid testimony and detailed policy suggestions, while Lisa Boothe steers the conversation toward immediate, practical implications for listeners concerned about higher education, anti-Semitism, and the direction of the country.

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End of Summary

Transcript

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[Lisa Booth]

with Lisa Booth where we get to the heart of the issues that matter to you today. We're joined by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. She is the author of the new book Poisoned IVs the Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America's Elite Universities. From her viral confrontation with Ivy League presidents over anti Semitism to the deeper ideological capture of higher education, she pulls back the curtain on how America's most prestigious campuses have abandoned truth, merit and basic moral clarity. We're also going to dive into some of the current headlines, including early polling on the Iran strikes. Also, her decisions to step away from both the New York gubernatorial race and her congressional reelection. What does that signal for this November? Should that bring concern? Also, we're going to talk about the exodus of higher earners from New York City and state under Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Momdani. Also, what does she think about the recent controversy surroundings or run Mamdani's wife, New York City's first lady, about some of these crazy tweets that she has liked. She's used the N word a lot of anti Semitism. She's like posts saying that October 7 was a hoax and things like that. So what does she think about that? Stay tuned for all of that and more with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. Well Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, first time on the show. Really appreciate you making the time. We ran into each other recently and I was like I've got to get you on. So I appreciate you making the time for me.

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

This was great to Connect with you, Lisa, and excited to be on your podcast.

[Lisa Booth]

Well, thank you so much. You know, Congressman, I wanted to start off before I would definitely want to talk about your book. It's a very important. But I want to start off on Iran right now. So so far, at least early polling shows that the war is not popular. You know, why do you think the public backing is weaker than we've seen at the start of past conflicts like, you know, Iraq or even Korea and some of these other wars?

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

Well, first of all, I don't think the president or the Congress should be making national security decisions based upon polling. They should be focused on national security threats. And if you look at Iran's not only of the past few months, but frankly over decades, this is the largest state sponsor of terrorism. It has led to the deaths directly of Americans over the past decades. You know, I represent Fort Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division, the most deployed division in the US army since 9. When you think about the Iranian backed militias in Iraq and the targeting of American soldiers, that's an example of Iran as a national security threat, the continued pursuit of nuclear weapons capability, ballistic missiles. As someone who sits on two national security committees, this is an area where I speak directly to my constituents about a lot because it impacts the military families in my district. And we've seen broad support not only for the president but also for protecting our national security. You know, I think that President Trump was correct when he said some things are this is more important than polling. And I also really have faith and confidence in President Trump in he took the correct action and it's been militarily extremely successful. And you've seen some of the public reporting, Lisa, in terms of looking to bring this to a close while also focusing on domestic issues like lowering energy prices. And that's something that both the secretary of energy and frankly, secretary of treasury and the entire administration is focused on. If you look among Republican voters, there is extremely strong support for this. But again, national security should not be decided by polling. And you know, that's always been my position in, in Congress.

[Lisa Booth]

No, I agree with you and I think that he made the right call. But, you know, voters want him to turn around the economy and there's concern that this could, you know, it's going to drive up energy costs ahead of the midterm elections. Does this sort of move the Republican Party further away from solving the affordability concerns of Americans?

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

You know, absolutely not. If you look at where we were a year ago in terms of or even more than a year ago when President Trump took office. Look at the economic disaster that he inherited. And right now we're at a very important time. Americans are filing their taxes. It's tax season and they're about to see the largest tax cut in history. Particularly when I consider my constituents in New York who faced historically high taxes and we raised that state and local tax deduction that is incredibly important to put more money in hard working families pockets. And the overall economic confidence right now is very high compared to where it was during the Biden administration. I mean, the digging out of the inflation crisis. President Trump has been very successful at that. Look at the historically low energy prices. Yes, they have spiked in the past two weeks. But with the all of the above energy approach, we're going to see those energy prices come down, particularly as there's such a focus from the administration to make sure that people aren't feeling the pain in the pockets over the long term.

[Lisa Booth]

You mentioned taxes. I'm sure you saw Governor Kathy Hochul begging wealthy individuals to return to New York to do their patriotic duty and pay taxes for, I guess, the illegal immigrants they've allowed into the state and city Mayor, Mayor Zoran Mamdani is intent on continuing to raise taxes. What does this like continued exodus of higher earners mean for New Yorkers?

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

It's not just high earners that are leaving, Lisa. I mean, I represent a district where the median income for a family is about 45,000 to $50,000. And these high taxes are extraordinarily painful. They hurt the working class in New York. And you're going to continue to see a mass exodus. If you compare our state's budget to the state of Florida, it is abysmal that Medicaid alone, which is a totally poorly run program in New York state, that's not serving the people who it should be serving well, let alone tens of billions that are going towards illegals. That's larger than the entire budget of Florida. And Florida has a larger population than New York. Every day, Lisa, I get texts or calls from New Yorkers, whether they're constituents or people across New York that they are leaving because of the policies. It's not because of the weather. It's not because they don't love New York. It's because of the economic policies that are running them out of the state. And you're going to continue to see a brain drain, not only of our entrepreneurs and our businesses and our young people, but seniors are leaving as well. And the fact that the only solution from whether it's Governor Kathy Hochul or Zoran Mamdomi is to continue to raise taxes. It's only going to further exacerbate that mass exodus. And the impact federally is that means over time you lose congressional representation. You know, New York used to be one of the biggest delegations in the nation and over the past few decades that has winnowed down. We lost a congressional seat in the last round of redistricting. That's going to happen again, unfortunately, because people are leaving and then I want

[Lisa Booth]

to switch into anti Semitism. Just one moment, but. So you have now exited the gubernatorial race for New York as well as your congressional election. Should we as voters read into that about, you know, the writing on the wall for Republicans this November?

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

No. You know, when I first ran, Lisa, I was very clear that I don't think these positions were imagined by the founders to be lifelong, you know, running for the next office constantly. And I made a decision as you know, personally, professionally and politically. For me I've been proud to keep my promises to my constituents to deliver significant results. But I also have a four year old and those are critical years. And as a mom, I made that decision. I also, you know, I do think politically the midterms are going to be very challenging. And in a blue state traditionally like New York, you have to have a pitch perfect situation politically in order to, to have a very strong path. I certainly know that we had the strongest path and certainly would have put the primary away. But I think that given the single party Democrat rule and the entrenchment and even the lawfare that is conducted against Republicans, I made a decision that it was not the right time for my family and I'm very happy with the decision for us. I know that many New Yorkers have reached out and what they'll say to me, Elise, is we're happy for you as a family and we, you know, are so we're gonna you so much at least as a member of Congress. But we understand and unfortunately, I think there's frustration broadly among New York Republicans that there's just a lack of apparatus. And I had a seat. People forget, Lisa. I flipped my seat. It was a seat that was held by a Democrat and we put up some of the largest margins in the Northeast. It was the right time for my family and I'm very grateful for my constituents for their encouragement and support as we've made this decision. And I'm going to continue speaking out and leading on issues that are important to me and important to New York.

[Lisa Booth]

No, of course, no. I mean you've got to do what's best for your family. It's just, it's, you know, tough loss for the Republican Party to lose, you know, someone so young and promising and in politics. But there's, there's more to life than it. Got to take a quick commercial break. More with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.

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[Lisa Booth]

you know, so I want to get to your book about Poisoned Ivies, the inside account of the academic and moral rod at America's elite institutions. How challenging is it to push for change within these institutions? When you look at places like New York City and you've got mom, Donnie's own wife who has, you know, liked things about October 7th and that described the Hamas attacks as, you know, breaking the walls apart apartheid or collective liberation, who has reportedly like content characterizing the reports of sexual violence during October 7th and rapes as a hoax or has used the N word. You know, like it's how, how do we get change of these institutions when you've got, you know, the rot is also within these politicians and at the top.

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

Yes. Well, first of all, isn't it very just disturbing that the mainstream media refuses to even ask mom dummy about his spouse's, his wife's horrific comments? It's just a very poor reflection of the state of affairs of the media. You know, the quote unquote elite media in New York that is just so out of touch and just is so biased in favor of these radical socialists. So first of all, you don't get a Zora Mamdaami without what happened at Columbia. Literally the same individuals. Mahmoud Khalil is an example. He was one of the foreign leaders on campus who led these pro Hamas encampments. And he was just in Gracie Mansion having dinner with Mamdami and his wife. So literally there is a direct correlation. I also go in depth in one of the chapters where I do a deep dive on Colombia. Mamdami really came out of the Petri dish of this far left, radical, anti American academia. The fact that his father has been an apologist for suicide bombers, that has a record of anti Semitism, anti Americanism, compared Abraham Lincoln to Hitler. It is inexcusable. And you know, Mamdami has said that he has been shaped by his parents, that that the most important guidepost. And we can look at what that record of academic work was for his father at Columbia. So the book, it's interesting. This was the hearing heard around the world. I've been in a lot of high profile congressional hearings. I've been in impeachment hearings. I've had, you know, Cabinet Secretaries, major CEOs in front of me under oath at Congress. I've never been in a hearing that resonated and really captured the public's attention like this one. And it was because it was clear that these institutions, it was Harvard, Penn and MIT at first, were so out of touch when I asked them the direct question, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university's code of conduct? And they all said about, you know, it depends on the context. And in a week it was a billion views. It set off an earthquake in higher education that continues to roil through. We saw the Department of Justice in the Trump administration just correctly sued Harvard for their failure to protect civil rights protections for Jewish students on campus. And there's just a litan of examples. And the book does a deep dive. This didn't happen overnight. This has been a long downward slide and slide to the left in academia. It goes into Harvard, it goes into Penn. There's a Columbia chapter, There is a chapter on sort of other schools like Northwestern, Brown, Yale, mit. And then it importantly puts forth schools that are getting it right so that are going in the right direction in terms of showing moral leadership, really focusing on academic exceptionalism and not political indoctrin. Some of those examples are Vanderbilt, University of Florida, Dartmouth is really the sole Ivy that has not followed the crowd, the hurt on this. And then it puts forth policy solutions. But it's a watershed moment. And in order to understand what's happening with these anti American socialists that are pro Hamas, pro terrorist, you need to look at what's happening at the schools.

[Lisa Booth]

You know, you'd mentioned the exchange with Ivy League presidents that went viral, your short questioning of them. Why was it so hard for them to just call out antisemitism? What's behind that?

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

You know, Lisa, I that wasn't even a prepared question. And it was the last question of the hearing. I thought, how Can I ask this in the most straightforward non political way to force them to answer yes. And I was planning my follow up was going to be about what disciplinary action they had taken against students or faculty that violated the rules. And to my astonishment they, I couldn't even get to the follow up because they answered the first question that was very direct is calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university's rules. That should have been a yes answer without hesitation. You ask a constituent of mine, they know how to answer that question. You ask sort of a typical working American, they know how to answer that question correctly. And the fact that these university presidents were so out of touch, I think it encapsulated just what's so wrong with higher education. And of course if you add on to that the fact that tuition is sky high prices, graduates are struggling to get jobs in today's workforce, we really need to do a deep dive. Go back to the founding mission of these schools and return to the founding mission. I mean I'm a big believer in going back and studying history. These schools were founded on amazing principles, veritas Truth, moral truth at Harvard. And it was, you know, part of the inspiration for the American Revolution. A lot of these schools predated the founding of our country, yet they've strayed so far away. But people are voting with their feet, parents and students are voting with their feet and their tuition dollars and they're going elsewhere. If you look at the matriculation rates,

[Lisa Booth]

what do you think's the driving force behind the anti Semitism on college campuses? Is it, is it these university presidents or are they responding to pressure from faculty and students or kind of like what's driving it, do you think?

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

So the book talks about this. It's multifaceted. So number one, if you look at the faculty ideological bent and the faculty tenure, it is a self selection process that continues to move further and further to the left. It's something like 80 to 1 at these schools. Now in the humanities departments of those that identify as, as extremely liberal, you know, for every 80 there's one, if there is one who is a faculty member that self describes as a conservative, that didn't used to be the case. If you look decades ago, surprisingly it was one to one at some of these schools. So that's how much that has shifted. So faculty tenure, we have to figure out a way to address that academic laziness. I say in academic monoculture and groupthink. The second piece is the foreign dollars. I think the American people are surprised when you Consider the amount of foreign dollars flowing to these universities. Last year alone, Qatar had $1.2 billion going to US higher ed institutions. And we've seen in the case in Northwestern, for example, where they have a formal agreement, they limited the school in terms of how they talked about October 7th because of that financial agreement. That needs to stop. These are American institutions. They should not be propped up by foreign dollars. Qatar is number one, China number two. If you look at the record of China investing in Confucius Institutes, which we banned a few years ago, but you know, China has tried to find loopholes. That's a piece as well. Also the percentage of foreign students. People would be surprised that, for example, in the case of Columbia, you have upwards of 40% of students who are foreign. Again, these are American institutions. They should be focused on giving those coveted slots to American students who are well, more than well qualified to apply and get accepted to these universities. And if you look at many of the kind of leaders of the Purno Hamas encampment and riots, in the case of Colombia, many of them were those foreign students on foreign visas. So you have to address that as well. In these universities, you also have the growing administrative states through the offices of dei, which are inherently anti Semitic. We saw that in the case of Harvard, that the office of DEI refused to even respond when Jewish students reached out raising issues of antisemitism. So the book goes into not only what is driving this, but also potential solutions. It has been a sea change dealing with and working with the Trump administration, which took this seriously. Not only on the campaign trail, it was a major focus of President Trump. It's an issue that I worked with him directly on. I mean, I don't know if people realize how closely he'd watch the hearings, but he would always be the first caller text after the hearing or as these college president resignations happen. I knew without failing, as my phone was ringing or the text sound went off, it was typically President Trump. The executive actions on day one, as well as these important investigations from the Department of Education, those have been incredibly important to create this shift that's going to take a long time to dig out of.

[Lisa Booth]

Now, I'm glad you mentioned the foreign money. That's something I've been concerned with as well. But why don't we hear about it as much? Because you would think that that would be like an obvious point of concern for Americans, that we're importing these students who hate the west who will get here, but they hate our country and they hate our values or that we're taking money from, you know, countries that house terrorists. If you're Qatar or China an enemy. Right. Like, it's like you would think that would be more concerning, but we don't hear about it very often.

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

We didn't hear about it because there were loopholes in the law. So one part of the hearing that did not get as much media coverage, but I knew in the moment was an important question because I can see the witnesses sort of body language and how they responded. I actually asked the president of Harvard, former former president Claudine Gay, about the sources of foreign dollars and she sort of clammed up in the hearing and said, you know, we have generous donors from all over the world. She wouldn't say countries. I knew at that moment I was hit on something because these schools, number one, were finding loopholes and not being fully transparent. So what we did in Congress was we passed what's called the Deterrent Act. Previously, foreign dollars could flow into centers and not directly to the university or professors and not directly to the university writ large. Those were not disclosed as part of the requirement for foreign dollars. That loophole has now been closed up. And that's why you saw this recent report from the Department of Education was so jaw dropping because it included all those dollars together. And this is an area where my office has led. This book focuses on this. And the more we talk about this, that bringing this transparency is going to wake up the American people and policymakers to say we should not allow this to be happening.

[Lisa Booth]

You know, and you've mentioned this, but the Trump administration has tied federal funding to some accountability. How successful has he been with that? And then do we worry that the next Democrat president will, you know, do the same in terms of trying to shape some of these universities and college campuses?

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

Well, it's what I found is after the hearing, these schools had an opportunity to fix themselves and they completely failed to do that. They just continued to dig deeper and deeper. So to me, the biggest tool we have is taxpayer dollars. These schools rely on, in some cases, over a billion dollars annually of hard earned US Taxpayer dollars. They are not entitled to those funds. If they are not complying with civil rights laws, then, then they need to be defunded. And that, you know, I know there's been some criticism from the media and from these institutions to President Trump, but he made the correct decision with my office's encouragement that you have to use the federal dollars. That's the only way these schools are going to respond. And if you dig down to what These requirements are, Lisa, it's pretty straightforward. Focus on academic excellence, comply with civil rights laws, protect Jewish students on campus, focus on academic integrity. I mean, the book also goes to this moral rot. But let's talk about the academic rot as well. The former president of Harvard is a known plagiarist. In terms of the plagiarism that came out as a result of the hearing and increased scrutiny and transparency, any student would be kicked out of campus. But somehow the Harvard Corporation board kept the president of the university. So, you know, the Trump administration has been correct. My fear is the next administration, if it is a Democrat administration, whenever that happens down the line, is they can wipe those executive actions away. That's why it's very important for Congress to codify as many of these EOs as possible. We were able to do some of this in the reconciliation bill that we passed last year, but there needs to be more work on this issue.

[Lisa Booth]

Why are we giving some of these elite institutions federal money, like, period? I mean, some of them are completely, or I think most of them are, you know, self sufficient financially. They have big endowments. So it's like, why are they even getting federal taxpayer dollars, period?

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

It's a great point. It's something that I believe we should absolutely consider clawing that back. These schools have some of the largest endowments, I mean, tens of billions of dollars in many cases. The interesting thing, and I talk about how they sort of put American students last while they have these massive endowments and on top of that they're getting federal funds, the tuition rates continue to keep going up. I mean, the tuition rates are much, much higher than the median income for an entire family in my district. That is not only unaffordable, but focused on recruiting these foreign students who pay full ticket price, which puts American students at a disadvantage. So I, I think that is something that should be considered is not only in the short term clawing back those federal dollars, but really looking at what these endowments are. And also, by the way, they get special tax provisions. And because in the case of Columbia and most of these schools, they're nonprofits, they don't pay property taxes and become the largest landowners in key areas. That's the case for Harvard in the greater BO area. Columbia is one of the largest landowners in terms of New York City. Something is not right. Many things are not right when you consider where higher education institutions are, what their endowments are, and yet they continue to, you know, screw the American taxpayers.

[Lisa Booth]

Gotta take a quick break if you like what you're hearing. Please share on social media or send it to your family and friends.

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[Lisa Booth]

these universities, you know, they preach inclusion, but it seems to be like inclusion, except for Jewish students.

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

Except for Jewish students or conservative students. Or again, common sense. You don't even have to be conservative to be out of the norm. Now it's like if you're common sense and independent and not a socialist, that makes you out of the norm at some of these institutions. And the only time they've very vociferously defended free speech, Lisa, was when it came to calling for the genocide of Jews. And I pointed out in Harvard's case, I was purged from Harvard's board of the Institute of politics after January 6 based upon my floor speech. My floor speech, which talked about constitutional issues, condemned the violence on January 6th. And I stand by the floor speech. It was immediate and swift and they got rid of the only person that voted for Trump not once, not twice, but three times, both in 1620 and 24. Not acceptable on a quote, unquote bipartisan board. So you know these schools to say now we support freedom of speech. Speech. Look at the conservative professors, they've run out. Look at the conservative speakers, they've silenced. Look at the conservative leaders. I mean, in Harvard's case, they were actually considering revoking degrees from ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis and myself and Tom Cotton. That is insane. They actually, like that's what the faculty was pressing the president of the university to do. Something is deeply, deeply amiss. But I will tell you, parents and students are very smart. They're going to schools like Vanderbilt, University of Florida. They are looking elsewhere, this new school at University at Austin which was founded in 2021, or they're looking at not going to the traditional four year college and going right into the workplace. I mean, I've been inspired in the past couple of years, in particular, the number of entrepreneurs that are starting billion dollar companies solving major national security issues, who were freshmen at MIT and said, you know, know what? This is not worth my time. I'd rather get to work, build an amazing American company. That's inspiring to me. And the Teal Fellowship program is an example of a program that has been quite successful. But I think people are really scrutinizing their decisions now when it comes to education. And as my son is beginning his educational journey, I mean, he's only in pre K4. We're very proud of him, he's doing great in school. We're going to think outside of the box to make sure that, that it is focused on academic excellence and not this politicization.

[Lisa Booth]

What role has DEI played in shaping these universities and how they, you know, they hire, they teach and they discipline.

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

A huge role. And if you look at the case, I mean, this is one of the driving issues that has led to the skyrocketing of anti Semitism in the DEI regime, which frankly is unconstitutional when it comes to equal protection under the law. There was a prioritization of sort of checking the DEI boxes rather than the merit of the student. I think one of the bigger scandals, not just what happened at these schools post October 7th, which was a huge scandal, is when we do a deep dive in the admissions office. We've seen a little bit of this in recent years with the Supreme Court ruling against Harvard because of their admissions processes. But if you look at the percentage of not only American students, but specifically American Jewish students, that has fallen off a climate cliff at these most quote unquote elite universities. I believe the admissions offices of some of these schools are not abiding by the Supreme Court decision again and sort of the race blind admissions process to have equal access and equal, you know, equality of opportunity, which is quintessentially American, but it's fallen so far away from that. And I go through examples in the book of how the offices of DEI would not respond to Jewish students because they didn't fit into the DEI regime. I believe DEI at its core is anti Semitic, it's anti American and it's led to this shift away from merit based opportunities.

[Lisa Booth]

Absolutely. And then before we go, is there anything else you'd like to leave us with about your new book, Poisoned IVs?

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

It comes out April 14th. You can pre order it at elisetefonik.com it's available at your local bookseller. It's my first book. Again, I look forward to writing books in the future, but if you watch that hearing if you're concerned about American education. Education if you're a student, if you're a parent. This book really lays out what is happening at these, again, elite schools. And I went to one of them. It was not like this when I was an undergraduate at Harvard. But this slide over the past two decades, this needs to be fixed, it needs to be addressed and it's very much tied into not only domestic politics but also national security issues we're facing today.

[Lisa Booth]

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik Poisoned Ivies. Interesting stuff. Look forward to seeing what you do next. Really appreciate you making the time for the show.

[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

Show thank you Elise.

[Lisa Booth]

That was Congresswoman Elise Stefanik on her new book Poisoned Ivies. Appreciate her for making the time for the show. Appreciate you guys at home for listening every Tuesday and Thursday that we can listen throughout the week. Also want to thank John Cassio, my producer, for putting the show together. Until next time.

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[Congresswoman Elise Stefanik]

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