Jeffries calls on Johnson to hold vote on antisemitism bill

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is urging Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to stage a vote on a bipartisan bill to combat antisemitism, the latest push by lawmakers in the wake of pro-Palestine protests roiling college campuses across the country.

In a letter to Johnson on Monday, Jeffries asked that the Speaker bring the Countering Antisemitism Act to the floor, which would establish a national coordinator to counter antisemitism at the White House, who would serve as the president’s main adviser on combating antisemitism in the U.S. and coordinate federal efforts on the matter.

“The effort to crush antisemitism and hatred in any form is not a Democratic or Republican issue. It’s an American issue that must be addressed in a bipartisan manner with the fierce urgency of now,” Jeffries said. “In this spirit, I strongly urge you to schedule a vote on the bipartisan Countering Antisemitism Act forthwith.”

The legislation — which was introduced by a bipartisan group of House lawmakers and senators earlier this month — would also compel the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterrorism Center to create a joint threat assessment of antisemitic violent extremism every year, and it would declare May to be “Jewish American Heritage Month” in federal law.