Politics

House Republicans Cancel Muriel Bowser Hearing After DC Police Clear GW Encampment

Comer canceled a hearing about Mayor Bowser and anti-Israel protests. [Screenshot/YouTube/Forbes Breaking News]

[Screenshot/YouTube/Forbes Breaking News]

Julianna Frieman Contributor
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House Republicans canceled a Wednesday hearing on Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser after police cleared out an anti-Israel protest encampment at George Washington University (GW).

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, D.C., cracked down on demonstrators at the college campus hours ahead of Bowser’s scheduled testimony to Congress. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman Republican James Comer announced the cancelation of the hearing in a statement.


“Following the Metropolitan Police Department finally clearing out the unlawful encampment on GW’s campus, I am very pleased to announce that the hearing with Mayor Bowser has been canceled,” Comer said in the statement.

“I had a good conversation with Mayor Bowser. I thanked her for finally clearing the trespassers off the GW Campus,” Comer continued. “It was unfortunate the situation at GW forced the Oversight Committee to act; however it was apparent that the DC police force was not going to do their job. Therefore, after meeting with GW leadership and touring the encampment, we decided to hold a public hearing to get answers as to why the Mayor would not upload the law.”

“I am pleased that the potential Oversight hearing led to swift action by Mayor Bowser and MPD Chief Smith. We will continue to hold D.C. officials accountable to ensure our nation’s capital is safe for all,” the statement said. (RELATED: DC Mayor Muriel Bowser Offers Two-Word Response To Baltimore Bridge Collapse)

Police arrested at least a dozen protesters at GW for “assault on a police officer” and “unlawful entry” as a result of “a gradual escalation in the volatility” of the nearly two-week-long demonstration, MPD said in a statement.

“DC Mayor Bowser only ordered the pro-Hamas encampments to be cleared out because she knew she was going to have to face Congress,” Republican Florida Rep. Mike Waltz wrote in a Twitter post.

Pro-Palestine protests and encampments have emerged at several universities across the U.S., starting at Columbia University. The administration at Columbia University canceled its main commencement ceremony and shifted classes online for the rest of the semester as conflict occurred at its campus and others, including at Yale University, Emerson College, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.