In his first in-depth interview with a U.S. network, Pope Francis called for peace in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and said a “negotiated peace” is better than an ongoing conflict.

“Please. Countries at war, all of them, stop the war. Look to negotiate. Look for peace,” the Pope said in an interview with CBS News on Wednesday.

The Pope has been outspoken about stopping the Israel-Hamas war and saving the civilians in Gaza, mentioning it in his addresses since the conflict broke out last year.

He said every day around 7 p.m. he calls Gaza to the parish. There are about 600 people who provide updates about the situation in Gaza.

“It’s very hard, very, very hard. Food goes in, but they have to fight for it,” he said. “It’s very hard.”

When asked if he could help negotiate peace between Hamas and Israel, he said he can and has prayed “a lot” about it.

Since Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel launched its counteroffensive, more than 34,000 Palestinians have died.

According to the United Nations, more than one million people will be facing famine in Gaza, many of them children. President Biden announced last month that the U.S. would build a temporary port along the coast of Gaza, but agencies say it will be nowhere near enough.

Pope Francis said the world needs to not only think about the children in Gaza, but the children in Ukraine, who have lived in war-torn cities for over two years.

“Those kids don’t know how to smile. I tell them something and they forgot how to smile,” he said. “And this is very hard when a child forgets to smile.”

“That’s really very serious, very serious,” the Pope said.

He said his message for Russian President Vladimir Putin is to end the war and look for ways to negotiate peace.

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Former White House attorney Ty Cobb on Wednesday suggested that Rudy Guiliani "sold his soul" to protect former President Trump following an Arizona grand jury indictment charging him for his alleged role in a "fake elector" scheme.

Cobb, in an interview with CNN anchor Erin Burnett, reflected on the newly unsealed indictment against Guiliani -the former mayor of New York City turned Trump attorney - alongside a group of other Trump allies and 11 "alternate electors" who signed documents purporting to be the state’s valid electors in December 2020.

Among those indicted includes Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump adviser, whom Cobb noted is still "very much" in Trump's "inner circle."

"And very protective of the former president and protective to the point that Giuliani reached when he arguably sold his soul to protect the president under circumstances that were improper," he continued.

The Arizona grand jury indictment accuses seven Trump aides and 11 pro-Trump Arizona Republicans of allegedly attempting to prevent the lawful transfer of power from Trump to President Biden following the 2020 election.

The 18 defendants are accused of carrying out a scheme to raise false claims of election fraud to pressure Arizona election officials to overturn Biden's slim win in the state by just more than 10,000 votes.

“In Arizona, and the United States, the people elected Joseph Biden as President on November 3, 2020,” the indictment read.

“Unwilling to accept this fact, Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters,” it continued, referring to Trump. “This scheme would have deprived Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted.”

Trump himself is not charged but is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Guiliani, Epshteyn and five other defendants are not identified by name in the charging documents, though descriptions within the indictment make clear their and the others' identities, including Mark Meadows, Trump’s White House chief of staff; attorney John Eastman, who was involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn the election; Christina Bobb, another Trump attorney who now works for the Republican National Committee; and Mike Roman, the director of Election Day operations for Trump’s 2020 campaign.

The indictment makes Arizona the fourth state to bring charges against the groups of pro-Trump electors, following charges brought in Michigan, Nevada and Georgia.

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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) joined Jesse Watters Wednesday to discuss the massive foreign aid package that recently passed both chambers, and the difficulties Republicans have faced getting immigration-related reforms passed with a Democratic Senate and President Biden in office.

“Listen, we’re dealing with the smallest majority in U.S. history. We have a one-vote margin,” Johnson said on "Jesse Watters Primetime" on Wednesday. “Some people are upset that we didn’t have the border on the foreign aid bill. We fought all the way to the very end to do that. We’ve been fighting for the border every single day.”

Watters pushed back on the Speaker, saying Republican representatives are frustrated because while they hold a majority in the House, they aren’t getting what they want, which is increased border security measures.

“Well, that’s not true. We don’t have a functioning majority,” Johnson countered. “When you can only lose one vote, if one person has a different idea, we don’t.”

Johnson said Republicans don't want to work together but wouldn't specifically name Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has threatened to remove Johnson from his leadership position.

“We’re trying to keep the Republicans working together and we’ve gotten better policy, better process and we’re getting things done, but it’s very difficult when very individualistic, individual minded Republicans don’t want to move together as a block,” Johnson said.

Depending on who’s asked, the Republican caucus has very different answers about who is to blame for their dwindling majority. The pointed fingers highlight the deep divisions that hurt the House GOP, where conservatives are criticizing moderates and moderates are criticizing conservatives.

Johnson likened the situation to a game of football. He said some people want him to make a hail Mary pass “on every play,” which is not a “game-winning strategy.”

"Right now, when you have this margin, is three yards and a cloud of dust, right? We get the next first down, we put points on the board, and we get to November, and we take back and grow the majority."

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The intifada revolution has engulfed Columbia University. Just a week after a congressional hearing in which President Minouche Shafik touted her school’s efforts to combat antisemitism, protests rife with antisemitism raged on Columbia’s campus. Shafik tried to assuage lawmakers’ concerns on April 18 by dispersing an unsanctioned anti-Israel protest on Columbia’s lawn, leading to more than 100 students getting arrested. But many returned, and the demonstrations grew, testing Shafik’s commitment to defending Jewish students.

At a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing, Shafik acknowledged that Columbia’s anti-Israel demonstrations were rife with antisemitism, admitted that there was a problem and pointed to steps she had taken to combat the issue. Shafik cited a new demonstration policy of Feb. 19 that confines protests to a designated location on weekday afternoons, with two-day advance notice and approval from the university, and accountability measures for policy violators.

But just one day after the hearing, many students returned, and were hurling abusive phrases like, “We don’t want no Zionists here” and “Oh Hamas, my beloved, strike Tel Aviv.” The circus at Columbia attracted jesters right outside campus, including one who vowed, “October 7th will happen every day for you … 10,000 times” and another who allegedly punched Arab-Israeli activist Yoseph Hadad in the face. The situation got so out of hand that a Columbia University rabbi warned Jewish students to go home and the university moved to virtual classes on April 22.

This was the culmination of months of hostility. A Jewish student was pinned to the wall on Feb. 2 and then told to “keep f*cking running” when he broke free, and another was whacked with a stick by pro-Hamas protesters. Pro-Hamas protesters have routinely shouted “F*** the Jews,” “Down with the Jews,” and “Down with Israel,” spit on Jewish students while walking to class and threatened supporters of Israel online with phrases like “I wish you enormous pain and suffering and maybe only after you will understand an ounce of what you inflicted on Palestine.”

Columbia has taken measures to curb pro-Hamas activity on campus, but they have fallen short. While Columbia banned Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) effectively replaced it. Faculty for Justice in Palestine at Columbia — the abode of pro-Hamas professors in coordination with SJP — remains alive and well, with most of its members still teaching and influencing students. Radical professors Shafik claimed were released from their positions — either from the classroom or from a committee chair role — were still in their positions as of the congressional hearing. Professor Joseph Massad, who described Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack as “awesome,” and Katherine Franke, who said Israeli military veterans are all “dangerous and shouldn’t be on campus,” may have been “spoken to” but received no real consequences. During the hearing, Mohamed Abdou remained on-premises at the unsanctioned protests.

Shafik claimed to have suspended 15 students related to antisemitic incidents. However, only three students were given interim suspensions for antisemitism, and all three suspensions were lifted or reduced to probation. Additionally, of the 10 suspensions stemming from CUAD hosting an event featuring speakers from a group banned by Germany and Israel for serving as a front for a U.S.-designated terrorist group, five were lifted because Columbia determined those students weren’t involved.

On the night of the House hearing, a Jewish Columbia student wearing a kippah was beaten and left with marks around his neck. Jewish students reported “ trouble sleeping” and fear of walking to class. Barnard senior Noa Fay said that it was “nearly impossible” “to get through” last semester “academically and mentally” because antisemitism “has consumed every aspect of our student life.”

And even after Columbia’s big show of arresting and dispersing unsanctioned protesters, some arrested and suspended students have already returned and reoccupied the campus lawn. One student described Columbia as a “ war zone.” Jewish alumni sent an open letter to Shafik stating that Columbia is under “mob rule” and “violence against Jewish students is imminent,” calling for “immediate closure of Columbia gates and enforcement of University rules of conduct.”

A lack of true consequences and inconsistent enforcement of policies will only continue to embolden anti-Israel students to harass their Jewish classmates and motivate pro-Hamas faculty to spew pro-terror rhetoric, validating the fear of Columbia Jewish alumni.

Is Shafik’s commitment to combatting antisemitism genuine, or nothing more than a show to retain her position? That is the question. Shafik must restore order and the confidence of her Jewish students.

If Shafik wants to keep her job, she must protect her Jewish students and restore civility at Columbia; to do that, she must send the pro-Hamas revolutionaries a clear message: Columbia’s stance against antisemitic harassment comes with swift and serious consequences — not just words, but actions. That is the only solution to Columbia’s intifada revolution.

David May is a research manager and senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Sabrina Soffer is a research intern. Follow David on X @DavidSamuelMay.

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Actor and comedian Jon Lovitz on Wednesday suggested Hollywood actors may be "afraid" to condemn the pro-Palestinian protests roiling college campuses across the U.S.

Lovitz, who is Jewish and has spoken out against the recent demonstrations, told Fox News host Jesse Watters he recently has been asked why he is speaking on the issue and why more Hollywood figures are not.

"People say, 'Why are you speaking up? Why aren't other people in Hollywood who are way bigger names than me not saying anything?'" he said on Fox News's "Jesse Waters Primetime." "And my answer is, I don't know. I think either they're afraid or they're afraid they're going to lose... that it'll hurt their business."

"But I feel like it's so bad, like how can you not say something? Like you have to," he continued.

Protests calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war have broken out at several college campuses across the U.S. in recent days, prompting arrests and suspensions of several students and a heavy police presence.

Many of the protests have been reportedly peaceful, but concerns have been raised over the safety of Jewish students, especially during the Jewish holiday of Passover this week.

"To the students at @Columbia , and any other students at colleges across the United States, blocking Jewish kids from entering the school to go to class: You're supposed to be smart. You're blaming your 18 year old classmates from the US for the actions of the government of Israel?" Lovitz wrote on X on Monday. "What the hell are you being taught? Think logically and quit being sheep & being used by your professors."

Columbia University was thrust into the national spotlight last week after hundreds of students occupied the center of campus, pushing for a cease-fire and a halt in U.S. military aid to Gaza. New York police officers, called in by university officials, arrested more than 100 student demonstrators.

Concerns have also been raised about the spread of antisemitic rhetoric, though several protest groups have rejected the characterizations of their recent demonstrations as antisemitic.

“We are frustrated by media distractions focusing on inflammatory individuals who do not represent us,” protest leaders wrote in a statement Sunday. “Our members have been misidentified by a politically motivated mob.”

The protest groups pointed to the sizable number of protesters who are Jewish, with a large group on Monday holding a Passover Seder from the Columbia University protest camp.

"I don't know how this can't be upsetting to everybody," Lovitz said. "And I also, I don't understand because Israel is a democracy and Israel is our ally. So, what don't you get?"

Antisemitic incidents have risen in the U.S. in the fallout from the Israel-Hamas war that was trigged by Hamas's Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel. About 1,200 people were killed and another 250 others taken hostage during the attacks, promoting Israel to bombard Gaza in retaliation.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the enclave's Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, on Wednesday launched an investigation into the “outrageously high prices” of Novo Nordisk’s respective diabetes and weight loss drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy.

On Wednesday, Sanders penned a letter to Novo Nordisk’s chief executive officer, Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, notifying him of the investigation and laying out his concerns with various price discrepancies between the drugs and pointing out concerns about the drugs’ pricing.

“The scientists at Novo Nordisk deserve great credit for developing these drugs that have the potential to be a game changer for millions of Americans struggling with type 2 diabetes and obesity,” Sanders said.

“As important as these drugs are,” Sanders continued, “they will not do any good for the millions of patients who cannot afford them.”

Ozempic and Wegovy have the same active ingredient – semaglutide – but they have different doses and strengths. Ozempic is FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes while Wegovy is approved for weight loss.

In his letter, Sanders questioned why the two medications would be priced differently from each other and priced differently from other countries.

Ozempic costs $969 a month for type 2 diabetes in the United States, but it costs $155 in Canada and $59 in Germany, Sanders said. Wegovy costs $1,349 a month for weight loss in the U.S., compared to $140 in Germany and $92 in the United Kingdom.

Sanders cited a recent report from Yale University that he said found the drugs could be profitably manufactured for less than $5 a month.

“The result of these astronomically high prices is that Ozempic and Wegovy are out of reach for millions of Americans who need them,” Sanders said. “Unfortunately, Novo Nordisk’s pricing has turned drugs that could improve people’s lives into luxury goods, all while Novo Nordisk made over $12 billion in profits last year — up 76 percent from 2021. That is unacceptable.”

Sanders warned the high prices could bankrupt key programs like Medicare and Medicaid, “if the prices for these products are not substantially reduced,” adding, “The United States Congress and the federal government cannot allow that to happen.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk said the company is “proud of the work our scientists have done to advance innovation and improve the lives of people with chronic diseases,” and said it was “humbling” to see the medications helping people.

“We agree with the Chairman that access to these important treatments is essential for patients in Medicare, Medicaid and the commercial markets.

“It’s easy to oversimplify the science that goes into understanding disease and developing and producing new treatments, as well as the intricacies of U.S. and global healthcare systems. However, the public debate doesn’t always take into account this extremely complex reality. Novo Nordisk remains committed to working with policymakers to advance solutions to support access and affordability for all patients, and we reiterated this commitment in our conversation with Chairman Sanders,” the statement read.

Sanders asked the CEO if he would “substantially reduce both the list price and the net price of both Ozempic and Wegovy.” Sanders also requested information by May 8 on the internal decision making, how much profit the company makes and how those prices are determined.

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Activist Malala Yousafzai confirmed her support for Palestine in a post online after receiving backlash over a report she collaborated with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on a musical.

“I have and will continue to condemn the Israeli government for its violations of international law and war crimes, and I applaud efforts by those determined to hold them to account,” Yousafzai posted on social media platform X. “Publicly and privately, I will keep calling on world leaders to push for a ceasefire and to ensure the delivery of urgency humanitarian aid.”

Yousafzai, a 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been criticized by some for partnering with Clinton on a new musical, “Snuffs,” which has begun playing in New York, Arab News reported.

In an op-ed published last November, Clinton argued against a full cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, saying it would allow Hamas to refuel and prolong the conflict.

Clinton has backed humanitarian pauses in the fighting to allow for aid to be sent to civilians in Gaza. She said she would eventually agree to a cease-fire, but it must happen at the right time. She criticized current Israeli leadership and said international interim leaders should support efforts to help Israel “resume control in Gaza.”

Users have posted online calling Yousafzai a sellout, among other things. The outlet reported that she has been met with suspicion in her home country of Pakistan, where critics have said she pushes Western feminist and liberal ideas on the conservative countries.

“I stand against any form of violence against innocent civilians, including the taking of prisoners and hostages. And I stand in solidarity with the people in Gaza whose voices and demands must be heard,” she said.

“When we see alarming signs of genocide, we cannot wait to take decisive action. We must work together to urge our leaders to stop these war crimes and hold perpetrators to account,” her post concluded.

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday took a swipe at Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) for questioning Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) stance on antisemitism, calling the Florida Democrat's remarks "shameful."

"Sen. Sanders’ family was killed in the Holocaust. He dedicates his every moment to realizing tikkun olam. His commitment to protecting innocents in Gaza stems FROM his Jewish values," Ocasio-Cortez wrote Wednesday in a post on the social platform X. "He and many other Jewish leaders deserve better than to be treated this way. This is shameful."

Ocasio-Cortez was responding to Moskowitz's comments about Sanders, who released a statement Tuesday on his efforts to halt U.S. military aid to Israel's wartime campaign.

"I am very disappointed, but not surprised, that my amendment to end offensive military aid to Netanyahu's war machine - which has killed and wounded over 100,000 Palestinians, two thirds of whom are women and children - will not be considered," Sanders wrote.

Sanders, the son of Jewish immigrants who emigrated from Poland in the 1920s to escape rising antisemitism, attempted to add an amendment to a massive foreign aid package taken up by the Senate on Tuesday that included $26 billion for Israel and global humanitarian aid, including for Gaza.

The bill passed in the upper chamber in a 79-18 vote Tuesday and was signed by President Biden on Wednesday. Sanders, along with Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), voted against the bill.

Moskowitz, who is also Jewish, reposted Sanders's statement and wrote, "Bernie, now do AntiSemitism. Why so quiet?"

Moskowitz clapped back at Ocasio-Cortez's criticism, pointing to his family's deaths in the Holocaust.

"My family was also killed in the Holocaust. In Germany and in Poland. My grandmother was in the kinder-transport," he said. "They also instilled values in me. It’s why I voted for aid to Israel and for aid to Gaza. We see each other at work, we are both better than doing this here."

Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, has been one of the most vocal critics of continued U.S. aid to Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, given the climbing civilian death toll in Gaza.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Hamas's Oct. 7 attacks that triggered the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.

Antisemitism has been on the rise in the U.S. and other Western nations since the Oct. 7 attacks, during which 1,200 were killed and about 250 others were kidnapped.

The U.S. saw more than 8,800 antisemitic incidents in 2023, according to the annual survey by the Anti-Defamation League, marking an all-time record. Moskowitz is one of several lawmakers who has expressed concerns about the uptick.

The Hill reached out to Moskowitz's and Sanders's offices for further comment.

Updated at 8:39 pm EST.

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An Arizona grand jury handed up felony charges against Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and other prominent Trump allies for allegedly attempting to prevent the lawful transfer of power from then-President Trump to Joe Biden.

Seven Trump aides were charged alongside 11 pro-Trump Arizona Republicans who signed documents purporting to be the state’s valid electors in 2020.

The former president himself is not charged but is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Prosecutors accuse the 18 defendants of devising a scheme to raise false claims of election fraud to pressure Arizona election officials to overturn Biden’s narrow victory in the state.

The indictment, which was dated Tuesday but became public on Wednesday, describes lawsuits filed, alleged messages to county and state officials and the signing of the “fake elector” documents in December 2020.

Each of the 11 pro-Trump electors faces nine charges, including conspiracy, fraud and forgery counts.

“In Arizona, and the United States, the people elected Joseph Biden as President on November 3, 2020,” the indictment reads.

“Unwilling to accept this fact, Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona's voters,” it continued, referring to Trump. “This scheme would have deprived Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted.”

Only the 11 alternate electors are identified by name, but descriptions contained within the charging documents make clear the other defendants include Giuliani, the former New York City mayor turned Trump attorney; Meadows, Trump’s White House chief of staff; Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump adviser; John Eastman, an attorney involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn the election; Christina Bobb, another Trump attorney who now works for the Republican National Committee; and Mike Roman, the director of Election Day operations for Trump’s 2020 campaign.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’s (D) office said their names will be made public after they have been served.

“I understand for some of you, today didn't come fast enough. And I know I'll be criticized by others for conducting this investigation at all,” Mayes said in a recorded video announcing the charges.

“But as I have stated before, and we'll say here again today, I will not allow American democracy to be undermined. It's too important,” she added.

Mayes said her office is continuing to investigate the alleged scheme to subvert the state's election results.

The 2020 presidential race in Arizona was one of the nation’s tightest, with Biden prevailing against Trump by just more than 10,000 votes.

Arizona was one of seven battleground states where slates of “alternate electors” convened and claimed without basis that they were “duly elected” electors. The hope was that then-Vice President Mike Pence would recognize those Trump-supporting electors instead of the true electoral votes cast for Biden.

Arizona is now the fourth of those states to bring charges against the slates of pro-Trump electors, following charges brought in Michigan, Nevada and Georgia.

Without naming him, the indictment asserts that Giuliani — often identified as “the Mayor” — spread false claims of election fraud in Arizona. He pressured Arizona officials to change the outcome of the state’s election, and was responsible for encouraging the pro-Trump electors to vote for the former president’s ticket, according to the indictment.

Former Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R ) implicated Giuliani in his 2022 testimony before the House Jan. 6 committee. Bowers said that, despite repeatedly pushing the New York mayor-turned-Trump-surrogate for proof to back up his 2020 election fraud claims, Giuliani failed to produce any.

“My recollection, [Giuliani] said, ‘We’ve got lots of theories, we just don’t have the evidence,’” Bowers testified.

Meadows, also unnamed in the indictment, allegedly worked with members of Trump’s campaign to “coordinate and implement” the alternate electors’ votes in the battleground states, and was involved in “many efforts to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 (Trump) in power despite his defeat at the polls,” the charging document reads.

The other Trump allies allegedly helped implement the scheme, including by pressuring Pence to accept the pro-Trump slate of electors, according to the indictment.

The so-called ‘fake electors’ indicted are former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward; her husband, Michael Ward; Tyler Bowyer, the chief operating officer of Turning Point Action; Nancy Cottle, who has held positions on the Maricopa County Republican Committee; Arizona State Sen. Jacob Hoffman; Arizona State Sen. Anthony Kern; former U.S. Senate candidate James Lamon; former Cochise County Republican Party Chair Robert Montgomery; Samuel Moorhead, a former Gila County Republican Party precinct committeeman; former Ahwatukee Republican Women president Lorraine Pellegrino; and Gregory Safsted, the state Republican party’s former executive director.

"It's unfortunate to see so many so-called 'leaders' who are willing to eviscerate our entire justice system in their quest to take down the biggest threat to their grasp on power — President Donald Trump and anyone willing to take on the ruling regime," Ted Goodman, Giuliani's political adviser, said in a statement.

Hoffman said in a statement, "Let me be unequivocal, I am innocent of any crime, I will vigorously defend myself, and I look forward to the day when I am vindicated of this naked political persecution by the judicial process."

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, said in a statement that the indictment is “another example of Democrats’ weaponization of the legal system." He defended Bobb, specifically, as having “served our nation and the President with distinction.”

“The Democrat platform for 2024: if you can’t beat them, try to throw them in jail,” Cheung said.

Updated at 10:25 p.m. EST.

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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday said there could come a time when the National Guard is needed to quell pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University and other universities experiencing unrest.

The comments from Johnson came during a combative press conference the Speaker held with Republican lawmakers at Columbia University in New York City, during which they called on pro-Palestine protesters who have set up an encampment on campus to disperse and denounced the alleged antisemitism percolating through campus — all while the crowd heckled the group.

“If this is not contained quickly, and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard,” Johnson said. “We have to bring order to these campuses. We cannot allow this to happen around the country. We are better than this.”

Johnson said he planned to call Biden after his visit to the campus to “share with him what we have seen with our own two eyes and demand that he take action,” arguing that “there is executive authority that’d be appropriate.”

Johnson's statements came after Republican Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Tom Cotton (Ark.) on Monday called on Biden to deploy the National Guard to colleges across the country — especially Columbia — to end sit-ins and other demonstrations staged by pro-Palestinian protesters.

One day later, Cotton and 26 other GOP senators sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Attorney General Merrick Garland urging them to “restore order to campuses that have been effectively shut down by anti-Semitic mobs that are targeting Jewish students.”

Biden denounced the demonstrations at Columbia University, saying Monday he condemns both the "antisemitic protests" and “those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians,” before getting cut off.

Wednesday’s press conference with Johnson and other GOP lawmakers — Reps. Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Mike Lawler (N.Y.), Anthony D'Esposito (N.Y.) and Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.) — was the latest instance of congressional lawmakers visiting Columbia’s campus amid pro-Palestine protests and allegations of antisemitism.

Johnson called on Columbia President Minouche Shafik to resign from her post — he met with her minutes before the public event — saying she should step down “if she cannot immediately bring order to this chaos.”

“We met briefly with the president and her top officials right before we came out on the steps here. We encouraged her to take immediate action and stamp this out. And our feeling is that they have not acted to restore order on the campus,” Johnson said at another point in the press conference.

“This is dangerous. This is not free expression, this is not First Amendment — they are threatening, intimidating, saying that they will take violence upon Jewish students,” he continued. “We met with Jewish students who are in fear. They can’t come on campus, they can’t study for their final exams. This affects everybody’s lives, and it affects the image that we portray to the world. This is not who we are as Americans."

He also suggested that the House may move to cut off federal funding for colleges that do not provide a safe environment for Jewish students.

“If these campuses cannot get control of this problem they do not deserve taxpayer dollars. That’s a very serious issue,” Johnson said when asked what the House will do to address the antisemitism when lawmakers return to Washington next week.

“You’ve seen our Education and Workforce Committee having oversight hearings. We have brought the presidents of these universities to Congress to testify under oath, and you’ve seen accountability begun there. There’ll be much more of that. We’ll continue to work on legislation to adjust this at the federal level,” he added.

“This Congress — and I genuinely believe there’s bipartisan agreement on this — will stand for what is good and what is right. And it does not matter who shouts in our faces. We’re gonna do what is right by America. We respect free speech. We respect diversity of ideas. But there is a way to do that in a lawful manner, and that’s not what this is.”

The Republicans themselves were met with heckling as they denounced the demonstrations on Wednesday, with individuals in the crowd booing the group, chanting “we can’t hear you,” “Mike you suck” and “get the f--- out of here.”

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) criticized President Biden for “sending a green light” to Russian President Vladimir Putin when the U.S. withdrew its troops from Afghanistan.

McConnell joined Fox News's "America’s Newsroom" on Wednesday after the Senate passed aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia after a months-long delay. He argued that one of Biden’s biggest mistakes was the withdrawal because of what it showed on the international playing field.

“We kept the lid on terrorism there. We shouldn’t have withdrawn the troops,” he said. “When we did, that was like sending a green light to Putin, who was already thinking seriously about moving his troops up against the border.”

McConnell’s stance on the withdrawal has remained the same since 2021. Nearly three years ago, he called Biden’s plan to remove troops from Afghanistan “one of the worst foreign policy decisions in American history.”

In the years since the withdrawal, Russia has invaded Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded with a divided Congress for more aid. The package passed Tuesday will send $61 billion to Ukraine for its war.

The package has deeply divided the Republican Party, after a bipartisan bill tanked in the House for not including enough focus on the U.S.-Mexico border, and with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) facing pressure from conservative members who wanted him to do more.

McConnell criticized the Biden administration and said they didn’t provide Ukraine with “sufficient weaponry soon enough.”

“We tended to react too slowly. So, the administration did make a number of mistakes,” he said.

“But at least at this point, after a long delay, we’ve all come together and done what is needed to be done to help the Ukrainians,” McConnell said. “And you know, this is a huge issue to the whole world.”

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Anthony Fauci, former chief medical adviser to President Biden, will testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on June 3, making it the first time he will appear before a congressional panel since leaving government work at the end of 2022.

Subcommittee Chair Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) announced the hearing Wednesday. Fauci had committed to testify late last year along with agreeing to two days of interviews, which took place in January.

The closed-door interviews focused on gain-of-function research, alleged federal records violations, conflicts of interest and confusions around pandemic guidance. Fauci was joined by two attorneys during the entire course of the interviews.

“During Dr. Fauci’s closed-door interview in January, he testified to serious systemic failures in our public health system that deserve further investigation, including his testimony that the ‘6 feet apart’ social distancing guidance — which was used to shut down small businesses and schools across America — ‘sort of just appeared,'" Wenstrup said in a statement.

"As the face of America’s public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, these statements raise serious questions that warrant public scrutiny."

Ranking Member Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) said he appreciated "Dr. Fauci's willingness to testify voluntarily in June, which will allow the American public to evaluate for themselves the results of the Majority's extreme fishing expedition," when reached for comment by The Hill.

"Dr. Fauci is a dedicated public servant who stepped up for our nation during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. But for fourteen months, the Republican Majority has dedicated time and taxpayer dollars to a politically motivated probe to vilify him," said Ruiz, calling on the majority in the subcommittee to release the transcripts from the January meeting.

"Nearly half a million pages of documents and more than a dozen transcribed interviews with current and former federal public health officials and researchers — including 14 hours of testimony from Dr. Fauci himself — have failed to uncover any evidence that he sought to cover up the pandemic's origins or suppress the lab leak theory."

All that is known regarding what was discussed during the interviews is what members have relayed to reporters. Lawmakers said the longtime government scientists provided a great deal of clarification during the meeting, though Wenstrup said Fauci claimed he did not recall details about the pandemic numerous times during the interview.

Wenstrup said a transcript of the meeting would be released prior to the June hearing.

This article was updated at 8:53 p.m.

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Former President Trump will hold campaign events next week in Wisconsin and Michigan, marking the first time he will use a day off from his hush money trial in New York City to visit a battleground state.

Trump will head to Waukesha next Wednesday, where his campaign said he will deliver remarks "to contrast the peace, prosperity, and security of his first term with Joe Biden’s failed presidency."

Trump is expected to highlight rising prices that have been a persistent issue for the Biden administration, as well as the surge of migrants at the southern border that has had ripple effects in nonborder states across the country.

"The bottom line is that the Badger State is suffering under Biden, and President Trump will once again deliver safety and affordability to Wisconsin!" Trump's campaign said in a release announcing the event.

Following the Wisconsin event, Trump will head to Freeland, Mich., where he will deliver remarks at a rally that evening, his campaign said.

Trump has repeatedly complained during appearances outside the courtroom in Manhattan that he is being kept off the campaign trail as he seeks a second term in the White House in a rematch with President Biden in November.

Trump is required to be in court four days a week as he faces charges over falsifying business records related to an alleged hush money scheme to keep quiet an affair during the 2016 campaign. Wednesdays are typically off days from the trial, and next week will mark the first time Trump will use that time to campaign.

The former president's rally was scheduled for last Saturday in North Carolina, but it was canceled due to severe weather.

Biden, meanwhile, has hit the road aggressively in recent weeks, visiting Pennsylvania, Florida, New York and other states to tout his agenda and attack Trump over abortion and his economic positions.

Updated at 7:11 p.m.

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