What former UPenn president Liz Magill said about her disastrous congressional testimony
The big picture: Magill's appearance on Capitol Hill came as universities were grappling with how to respond to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and student protests on college campuses.
Magill ignited what she called a "maelstrom" of criticism by not explicitly stating that calling for the genocide of Jews would violate the university's conduct code, instead saying it was a "context-dependent decision."
She and UPenn's former board chair, Scott Bok, resigned within days of the uproar.
Zoom in: Magill told Politico she regretted that her response had harmed the university's reputation and made her seem insensitive following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Magill's answer sounded too "legalistic," Bok, who wrote a book detailing the fallout, told the outlet.
What they're saying: Few people thought Magill's "context-dependent" soundbite would become the "defining moment" of her presidency.
Magill said her apology did little to soothe the "utterly untenable" situation once her testimony exploded.
"I couldn't keep being president with the wide variety of board views about what I should do going forward," she said.
Yes, but:"One of the ironies about Liz Magill's testimony was that technically she was correct on the law," Greg Lukianoff, president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told the outlet. "It is a matter of context."
Between the lines: Magill spent several days preparing to testify with high-powered Washington, D.C., law firm WilmerHale, per Politico. Topics ranged from Penn's DEI programs to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Bok lamented that Magill hadn't received guidance from political consultants about how to handle lawmakers' pointed questions.
By the numbers: Magill, who left UPenn after less than two years at the helm, received $2.3 million in total compensation the year she resigned, per the Inquirer.
What we're watching: Magill, a visiting law professor at the London School of Economics, held a fellowship last year at Harvard and has been giving lectures and writing essays about academic freedom and a current U.S. Supreme Court case.
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Politico
5 hours ago
- Politico
Can you ever trust a jobs report again?
Presented by Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond. Send tips | Subscribe | Email Sophia | Email Irie | Email Ben The July jobs report showed that hiring in May and June was far slower than earlier estimates. Hours after its release this morning, President DONALD TRUMP added someone else to the unemployment rolls: the head of the agency that wrote the report. 'I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,' Trump wrote in a social media post. 'She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.' Trump said the Bureau of Labor Statistics under Commissioner ERIKA McENTARFER released overly positive jobs reports during the tail end of former President JOE BIDEN's term in order to influence the election. 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The commissioner doesn't have any hand or any influence or any way of even knowing the data until they're completely done. That's true of the unemployment rate. That's true of the jobs numbers. As a consequence, there's very little chance that there could be any influence from the commissioner. I believe it's a groundless claim. You trusted those employees to get you accurate information? Koh: It was not because we didn't know the methodology. We understood the nature of sampling and how it worked. Revisions happen all the time, regardless of party. Sometimes it's not politically expedient at that given moment when job numbers come out, as well as what the revisions are. But that's just the nature of statistics. That's the nature of statistical sampling. The insinuation that this was some sort of borrowed Biden appointee is outrageous. They're appointed on terms, which is why we had Bill Beach when we came in. Why is the political independence of BLS important? 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Koh: The biggest concern, candidly, is, will Trump's replacement for Commissioner McEntarfer be someone who believes in statistical sampling and statistical and sound mathematical methodology? Or will it be just somebody who makes up numbers that are convenient for President Trump? If it's the latter, our entire economy and the basis on which we make so many economic decisions that the market does … will be thrown into question. Beach: The main thing it does is undermine the credibility of the statistical system, by inserting into the dialogue the possibility that these numbers might be shaped by the White House. I think that's the main danger. As a consequence, we get a less valuable statistical system. And I hope we haven't crossed that particular threshold yet. This is just one firing. But it could set that precedent. You were commissioner toward the tail end of Trump's first administration, and throughout most of Biden's. Did either ever ask you to change the numbers? Beach: No, no one ever did that. Even when I announced that 20 million people had lost their job in one month in the April 2020 report, I never got any hint or shade from the White House that, 'Oh my gosh, we're going to have to fire Beach because that's a bad number.' Everybody believed it. MESSAGE US — West Wing Playbook is obsessively covering the Trump administration's reshaping of the federal government. Are you a federal worker? A DOGE staffer? Have you picked up on any upcoming DOGE moves? We want to hear from you on how this is playing out. Email us at westwingtips@ Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe! POTUS PUZZLER Which president was known as the 'sly fox' or 'little magician'? (Answer at bottom.) Agenda Setting CLOSING UP SHOP: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, announced today it was shutting down its operations, after Trump rescinded funding for the nonprofit, our AARON PELLISH reports. 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The first Trump administration asked Congress to eliminate funding through annual budget requests, saying the Forest Service should focus on land under its own jurisdiction. But it looks like this administration is taking a new approach, despite looking to eliminate other programs that support state, private and tribal forestry. The Oval SLOW NEWS DAY, HUH? Trump today said he's mobilizing two nuclear submarines 'to be positioned in the appropriate regions' in response to threatening comments made by former Russian President DMITRY MEDVEDEV, our ELI STOKOLS and PAUL McLEARY report. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he made the move 'just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.' Medvedev on Thursday referenced his nation's nuclear capabilities in a social media post amid Trump's latest efforts to increase economic pressure on Russia in hopes of ending the war in Ukraine. WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT BOOTED FROM THE ADULTS' TABLE: Health associations representing a range of public health interests will no longer be included in certain activities with the CDC's vaccine advisory committee, our LAUREN GARDNER and SOPHIE GARDNER report. The email, obtained by POLITICO, came from acip@ to several Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices liaisons, who have in the past represented 30 trade groups for medical specialities, pharmacists and drugmakers. It's unclear how many associations received the notice. The email attributed the change to a desire to shield the group's work from conflicts of interest, something HHS Secretary ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. has leveled against medical groups that promote vaccination. A HHS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. In the Courts SLOW DOWN: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from rapidly deporting hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were paroled into the United States to flee violence and oppression in their home countries, our KYLE CHENEY, JOSH GERSTEIN and MYAH WARD report. U.S. District Judge JIA COBB in a ruling today barred foreigners with immigration parole, typically a short-term status that allows foreigners to live and work in the U.S. legally, from being subjected to a controversial maneuver the administration has adopted in recent months: dismissing immigrants' pending proceedings in immigration court — only to immediately arrest them outside the courtroom and put them into a sped-up deportation process known as expedited removal. What We're Reading Trump administration firings mount as staffers' loyalty is called into question (POLITICO's Eli Stokols, Adam Wren, Ben Johansen and Myah Ward) Federal Reserve's Kugler to resign, giving Trump earlier-than-expected opening (POLITICO's Victoria Guida and Michael Stratford) 'Clinton Plan' Emails Were Likely Made by Russian Spies, Declassified Report Shows (NYT's Charlie Savage and Adam Goldman) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER The eighth president, MARTIN VAN BUREN, got the monikers because he was a 'clever and beguiling politician, proficient at manipulation, persuasion, party organization, and compromise,' according to the National Park Service.
