Trump officials seek meeting with Bass and other mayors about college antisemitism

Trump administration officials have requested a meeting with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to discuss the city’s response to alleged incidents of antisemitism at schools and college campuses over the last two years, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday, March 13.

The Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism informed Bass that it wants to engage with city leadership — district attorneys, city attorneys and law enforcement — over allegations that local universities failed to protect Jewish students from discrimination.

Leo Terrell, who is leading the task force and is senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, also informed New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu of similar visits.

Bass’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“These meetings, in conjunction with our visits to university campuses around the country, are just two of the many actions President (Donald) Trump and Attorney General (Pamela) Bondi are taking to end this scourge of antisemitism,” Terrell said in a statement.

On Monday, USC, UCLA, Pomona College, Santa Monica College, Chapman University and more than four dozen other colleges and universities nationwide received letters informing them of their need to fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits any institution receiving federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race, color and national origin, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities, the Department of Education announced. National origin includes shared Jewish ancestry.

Last week, on his social media platform Truth Social, President Donald Trump threatened colleges’ federal funding for allowing protests against Israel, which he called “illegal.” He also said American students who participated should be expelled.

Universities across the country saw demonstrations following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.