Overview

• During a June 4 House Education and Workforce Committee hearing, Rep. Mark Takano asked Education Secretary Linda McMahon if excluding Holocaust deniers from faculty roles amounted to an “ideological litmus test.”
• McMahon replied that “there should be diversity of viewpoints relative to teachings and opinions on campuses,” without directly condemning Holocaust denialism.
• On June 5’s CNN NewsNight, host Abby Phillip challenged GOP analyst Scott Jennings to clarify whether universities can bar Holocaust deniers after McMahon’s response.
• Jennings accused panelists of implying McMahon was a Holocaust denier, a claim Phillip rejected amid rising cross talk.
• The exchange highlighted sharp partisan divisions over the limits of free speech and ideological criteria in academic hiring.