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Widely welcomed

Trump’s executive order combating antisemitism wins bipartisan praise from lawmakers

‘A visa is not a right but a privilege,’ Rep. Ritchie Torres said about revoking student visas for foreign nationals who support terror

MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump speaks to the press after after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on January 31, 2025.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who have been leaders on speaking out against antisemitism and advocating for Israel largely praised the Trump administration’s executive order on antisemitism, issued earlier this week.

The centerpiece of that executive order was a directive that foreign nationals in the United States on student visas should have their visas revoked and be expelled if they express support for terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who was the lead Senate sponsor of the Antisemitism Awareness Act and other antisemitism legislation last year, praised the executive order as a welcome change of pace from the Biden administration.

“When antisemitism reared its ugly head across our nation, especially on college campuses, following Hamas’ October 7th terror attack on Israel, the previous administration equivocated and looked the other way. I’m thrilled to see clear-eyed, moral leadership has returned to the White House,” Scott said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “I fully support President Trump’s decisive actions to protect the rights and safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters and combat antisemitic hatred in all forms.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told JI that he thought the order was “fantastic. It is exactly what I predicted the Trump administration would do.” 

“A foreign student who engages in that conduct should absolutely be deported, so I’m very glad to see the order,” Cruz said. 

The Texas senator added that he had come away from conversations with Pam Bondi, Trump’s nominee for attorney general, with the impression that “enforcing Title VI, the civil rights laws, and cutting off funding for universities that allow Jewish students to be harassed and threatened” was “going to be a real priority” for the Department of Justice. 

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), the Democratic co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, praised the order while emphasizing the need for due process protections — a concern shared by some Jewish groups.

“I applaud this Administration for issuing strong guidance to all federal agencies to combat antisemitism. If someone is a material supporter of terrorism and has broken the law, they should absolutely face consequences,” Rosen told JI. “At the same time, we also have to ensure the Trump Administration follows due process and the law when carrying this out.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) expressed strong agreement with the executive order.

“If you’re a student who is here on a visa and you’re breaking laws, committing crimes, and aligning with terrorist organizations that seek the destruction of the United States, you should have your visa revoked,” Torres said. “A visa is not a right but a privilege, and that privilege, once abused, should be revoked.”

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) called the executive order “good,” adding, “having a student visa is not a right if you support a terrorist organization.”

Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Trump “took an important step … by showing that non-citizen criminals involved in hate speech against Jews following the horrific October 7 attacks in Israel must leave.”

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