Fetterman mocks students protesting on college campuses over Houthi offer

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) mocked the students protesting on college campuses after a report was released stating a Houthi-run university in Yemen will offer slots to those suspended at U.S. universities.

“If a homicidal, Iranian-funded, terrorism proxy wants to pick up your college education tab, you really, really might want to reevaluate things,” Fetterman posted on social platform X.

His post included a screenshot of a report from Reuters that details Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi offer to students as protests persist on college campuses across the country, resulting in more than 2,000 arrests.

“We are serious about welcoming students that have been suspended from U.S. universities for supporting Palestinians,” an official at Sanaa University told Reuters. “We are fighting this battle with Palestine in every way we can.”

The university released a statement applauding the “humanitarian” position of the U.S. students demonstrating nationwide and said they could continue their education in Yemen.

“The board of the university condemns what academics and students of the U.S. and European universities are being subjected to, suppression of freedom of expression,” the school’s board said in a statement.

The Biden administration has labeled the Houthis as a Specifically Designated Terrorist Group in response to attacks it launched against international shipping companies in the Red Sea amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Since the start of the war, Fetterman has unequivocally backed Israel and its right to defend itself. He criticized the protests, admitting that it’s a “great American value to protest” but thinks the demonstrations are “pup tents” for Hamas.

The protesters have rejected that characterization, saying they are merely exercising their freedom of speech to protest Israel’s war crimes against Palestinian civilians.

Fetterman was among a group of lawmakers last week who called on the president of Columbia University to do “her job or resign” amid the ongoing unrest.