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| By Kelly Garrity and Lisa Kashinsky |
POISON IVY — One top university’s president is already out after equivocating at a congressional hearing over whether students should be disciplined if they call for the genocide of Jews. But Harvard President Claudine Gay is expected to remain in office with the support of Harvard's highest governing body, the Harvard Crimson reports, a decision that comes barely three days after University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill said she is stepping down. Gay’s testimony was similar to Magill’s. Both said during a heated exchange with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) last week that it depends on the “context” whether calls for genocide would violate school rules against bullying and harassment. But they’re facing different circumstances at the institutions they lead. Magill was more than a year into her role when she started facing backlash from donors furious about her decision to let a Palestinian literary festival take place on campus earlier this fall. Even before Magill resigned on Saturday (she’ll continue to serve until the school finds an interim replacement), The New York Times reported that she had lost the support of enough trustees to force her out. Gay, too, has faced pushback from students, prominent alumni and donors over her responses to the Israel-Hamas conflict and rising antisemitism on campus. But she’s apologized at almost every turn. And she’s only been in office for five months, after her historic ascension as the first Black woman to lead Harvard. While dozens of members of Congress and some prominent alumni called for Gay’s ouster, hundreds of Harvard faculty members urged the school’s overseers to “resist political pressures” to remove her, per the Crimson. The Harvard Alumni Association’s Executive Committee sent a letter pressing the university’s governing boards to publicly back her. And a petition circulated by “Concerned Black Alum and Allies” offered “unequivocal support” for Gay “in her efforts to build a stronger, more inclusive community” while also protecting free speech.
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 Harvard president Claudine Gay faced tough questions from House lawmakers over her university's response to campus antisemitism. | Steven Senne/AP |
All of this is put the bevy of top Bay State politicians who’ve passed through Harvard’s hallowed halls in a difficult position, at a time when some of them are already facing blowback over their stances on the Israel-Hamas conflict at the root of this all. Prominent officials from House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark to Rep. Jake Auchincloss strongly condemned Gay’s congressional hearing comments. But many of them stopped short of calling on her to step aside, saying the decision was best left in the university’s hands. “I think that’s not the right question. I think the question really is: Where do we go from here? What does leadership look like?” Gov. Maura Healey told reporters at the State House yesterday when asked if she thought Gay should leave. “There is no place for genocide, talk of genocide, threats of violence, violence on college campuses or anywhere else in Massachusetts.” Rep. Seth Moulton said that as “a tireless advocate for ending the ‘cancel culture’ so pervasive at Harvard over the past decade, I’m not going to rush to cancel the president.” And a spokesperson for Sen. Elizabeth Warren didn’t even mention the university or its president by name in a statement that said “calls for genocide are fundamentally wrong.” Other Democratic politicians have been quick to point out — some of them publicly, some privately — that the furor is being fueled in part by Stefanik, a Donald Trump ally who was removed from a Harvard Institute of Politics advisory committee in 2021 after making unfounded claims of voter fraud about the 2020 presidential election. Stefanik's score-settling pressure campaign worked at one school. It doesn't appear to have influenced her alma mater. A statement from the Harvard Corporation is expected today. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. MIT President Sally Kornbluth, who also came under fire after testifying at last week's hearing, has received her governing board’s “full and unreserved support.” PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ve reached the last week of Playbooks for the year! Send us all those tips and scoops you’ve been holding onto: lkashinsky@politico.com and kgarrity@politico.com. TODAY — Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll hold a ceremonial signing for their administration’s to-be-filed economic development plan at noon; Senate President Karen Spilka attends. Driscoll provides an MBTA Communities Law update at 9:30 a.m. in Salem and attends a Blue Apple Bus line ribbon cutting at 1:45 p.m. in Canton.
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 | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | |
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 Geoff Diehl is exploring another run at political office. | AP |
DUST YOURSELF OFF AND TRY AGAIN — Thirteen months after losing his second statewide campaign, Republican Geoff Diehl told Playbook he’s exploring a run for state Senate, setting up a potential redux of the race he lost to Democrat Michael Brady in a 2015 special election. Diehl sent the political class chattering when he filed paperwork yesterday with state campaign finance regulators to switch his “office sought” from governor to the Second Plymouth and Norfolk Senate district. He told Playbook he was forming an “exploratory committee” for the seat and would have more to say in the new year. The Whitman Republican served four terms in the state House. But he lost three campaigns for higher office — against Brady in 2015, Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2018 and now-Gov. Maura Healey last year. He had $31.35 in his campaign bank account at the start of this month, after slipping into red following his gubernatorial bid. The Senate stripped Brady in 2019 of his $15,000-per-year post as Senate chair of the joint Public Service Committee because of a drunken driving arrest, but he’s since regained the title. He handily won reelection last year over both a Democratic primary challenger and a Republican general election opponent.
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| | DATELINE BEACON HILL | |
| — "'Pretty bleak': Waitlist for family shelter tops 200 households after first month," by Gabrielle Emanuel, WBUR: "One month after Massachusetts officials began placing people on a waitlist for the state-run family shelter system, at least 225 families are on it. Advocates said some are sleeping in their cars or outdoors while they await assistance." — “‘Far too large and costly’: State backs away from scale of Shattuck Hospital expansion plan,” by Chris Serres, Boston Globe. — “Nearly 350 Mass. farms to receive $20 million in disaster aid,” by Marianne Mizera, Boston Globe.
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Santa Claus helps ring in the holidays at the State House Christmas tree lighting ceremony. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO |
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| BALLOT BATTLES | |
ACCESS POINTS — The MassGOP has submitted four Republicans for the state’s presidential primary ballot: former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The state party also submitted North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s name, but is in the process of withdrawing it after he dropped out. Trump and Haley's campaigns paid $20,000 for ballot access, while DeSantis and Hutchinson held events with the state party to slash the fee to $10,000. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is also set to hold a fundraiser with the MassGOP in January and pay the party $10,000 to submit his name, Carnevale told Playbook. But a new effort is taking shape to block Trump from the ballot here. Former state attorney general hopeful Shannon Liss-Riordan is looking for people to sign onto a lawsuit she’s preparing to file arguing that Trump should be disqualified under section 3 of the 14th Amendment, according to an email sent to a prospective litigants that was obtained by Playbook. The Boston Herald first reported Liss-Riordan’s move. Liss-Riordan is working with Free Speech for People, a group that has backed lawsuits to bar Trump from the ballot in three other states, according to the email. Liss-Riordan wrote that Massachusetts “may provide a good opportunity to succeed on this challenge.”
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| | 2024 WATCH | |
| SUNUNU SWITCHEROO — Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu will attend tonight’s MassGOP holiday fundraiser at the Lenox Hotel in place of his son, current Granite State Gov. Chris Sununu, who was originally slated to headline the event. The younger Sununu is now expected to endorse Nikki Haley for president tonight when he joins the former South Carolina governor on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, WMUR reports this morning. Sununu's office wouldn't confirm the endorsement but said in a statement from the governor "I look forward to joining Nikki at her town hall this evening — it's going to be a lot of fun!" Haley's team wouldn't comment. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Democratic National Committee is looking to hammer Republican presidential hopefuls flooding New Hampshire this week over an issue that’s been a winning topic for them in the state — abortion. They’re starting by calling on Haley to say whether she supports a bill GOP state lawmakers put forward — but don't expect to pass — that would ban the procedure after 15 days. Haley recently said she would have signed a six-week abortion ban if such a bill made it to her desk while she was governor. “While Haley tries to pose as a moderate, there’s nothing moderate about Haley and MAGA Republicans’ attempts to rip away women’s freedom to make their own health care decisions,” DNC spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.
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| DAY IN COURT | |
CHARGED — Federal prosecutors have accused a 30-year-old New Hampshire man of threatening to “blow” Vivek Ramaswamy’s “brains out.” He is being held pending a detention hearing Thursday. — "Air Force disciplines 15 as IG finds that security failures led to massive classified documents leak," by Tara Copp, The Associated Press: "The Air Force has disciplined 15 personnel in connection with the massive classified documents leak by [Jack Teixeira] earlier this year, concluding that multiple officials intentionally failed to take required action on his suspicious behavior, the Air Force inspector general reported Monday." — “ACLU files suit against North Brookfield officials over refusal to allow Pride event with drag show,” by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe.
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| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS | |
— “2 top managers suspended at Cannabis Control Commission,” by Walter Wuthmann, WBUR: “Acting Executive Director Debbie Hilton-Creek suspended chief communications officer Cedric Sinclair and director of human resources Justin Shrader on Dec. 4, according to two people with direct knowledge of the events who are not authorized to speak publicly.”
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| FROM THE DELEGATION | |
— “Progressives worry Biden’s new student loan relief proposal is too small,” by Michael Stratford, POLITICO: “Top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, are raising new alarms that the Biden administration is moving toward a second student debt cancellation program that leaves out too many borrowers and offers insufficient relief."
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| | WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD BE READING | |
| MORE FROM HARVARD YARD — Risa Heller has been advising Harvard on crisis communications related to anti-Semitism in recent weeks and played a role in prepping Harvard President Claudine Gay for the disastrous congressional hearing last week, three people familiar with the matter told our colleague Daniel Lippman. Heller, a Chuck Schumer alum and veteran crisis comms pro, was hired by the university as institutional tensions rose in the weeks following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Heller played a minor role in Gay’s hearing prep, according to two of the people, and has since advised Harvard on how to deal with the fallout from the hearing. She declined to comment.
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| HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | |
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Jeff Goldstein, senior policy adviser to the CHIPS program, John Lippmann, former Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, Alex Reimer and Eric Maskin. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. |
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