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CNN Host and Guest Clash Over Education Secretary’s Holocaust Denier Hiring Response

The clash underscores deep rifts over academic free speech after McMahon’s ambiguous congressional testimony.

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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.