House Republicans on the House Education and Workforce Committee—including Reps. Elise Stefanik and Virginia Foxx—publicly slammed Northwestern University President Michael H. Schill in May 2024 for his so-called “Deering Meadow agreement” with pro-Palestinian protesters (AP News, May 23 2024; Politico, May 23 2024) at the same time that the HHS Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights were investigating alleged antisemitism at Northwestern under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (HHS OCR press release, May 13 2025; CNN, March 11 2025). What dynamics place university presidents like Schill in impossible positions when campus political conflicts erupt?