Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21) is calling for Brown University President Christina Paxson to be summoned before Congress to testify under oath following a deadly on-campus shooting.
Despite a resolution coming in the form of the alleged shooter, 48-year-old Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, killing himself, there remain numerous loose ends that need tying.
Neves Valente is accused of shooting multiple students in a classroom at Brown, killing two—19-year-old Ella Cook and 18-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov—and injuring nine others. He has also reportedly been linked to the murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro at his home. The latter of which would not have been possible if not for the shooter escaping after his spree at Brown.
Allegations of security compromises tied to pro-Palestinian activism and general incompetence among the university's staff require further scrutiny, according to Stefanik.
"It seems very clear to me that the president of [Brown University] will need to be hauled in front of Congress for a hearing under oath," she wrote on X.
It seems very clear to me that the president of @BrownUniversity will need to be hauled in front of Congress for a hearing under oath.
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) December 17, 2025
Repeated updates from authorities that provided little enlightenment to the public resulted in some official press conferences having a Keystone Cops feel.
Brown University President Christina Paxson would often speak, but, as RedState Deputy Managing Editor Susie Moore points out, would "shed virtually no light on anything."
While my colleague Teri Christoph notes, Paxson often struggled to provide basic information. Such as a presser on Monday in which she "had no clue – or wasn't willing to say – whose class was shot up, what they were studying, or what was shouted by the gunman."
What a DISASTER AT BROWN UNIVERSITY
— Brandon Tatum (@TheOfficerTatum) December 15, 2025
2 People Dead
Several Wounded
6 Hours Timelapse
816 Cameras
0 Pictures of the Suspect
71k a Year Tuition
... and the President of Brown University, Christina H. Paxson, is clueless
UPDATE: no suspect has been officially arrested or… pic.twitter.com/iWnUnNpIIc
READ MORE: Is It Me, or Is There Something Seriously Off About the Brown University Shooting Investigation?
Authorities: Suspected Brown U Shooter Dead of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound, Linked to MIT Killing
Her incompetence was so detrimental that, as Christoph pointed out, she was pulled from subsequent press conferences.
Stefanik, who is running to replace the uber-inept Kathy Hochul (D) as governor of New York, suggested the hearing would take place after the New Year and would address, in part, reports that the university disabled security cameras as a means to protect illegal immigrants and/or pro-Palestinian agitators on campus.
RedState reporter Nick Arama addressed the surveillance camera issue in a report on Thursday, explaining that the public was outraged that the images provided by the university at that point had such poor quality. One reporter thoroughly eviscerated officials on the matter, accusing them of using sanctuary laws to have the cameras disabled to protect illegal aliens.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! A LIVID reporter WENT OFF on Providence RI officials, accusing them of TAKING DOWN cameras in Brown University to shield illegal aliens
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 17, 2025
They had to abruptly end it!
"The camera in that building Brown pulled off, because the sanctuary city law we have! You don't… pic.twitter.com/Qu4ztulYem
Stefanik shared a report that Brown University was pressured by "human rights groups" demanding that they disable their CCTVs so violent pro-Palestinian activists wouldn’t be held accountable for their actions.
"Very important questions to ask in a Congressional hearing next year," the Congresswoman said.
Brown has faced scrutiny over its handling of antisemitism in recent years, including a settlement with the Trump administration over allegations tied to pro-Palestinian protests. That settlement included the school paying $50 million over 10 years to compliant workforce development organizations in exchange for the restoration of federally sponsored medical and health sciences research funding.
Stefanik's call for a hearing would allow Congress to scrutinize Brown University and Paxson's radical influences, which, in this case, seemingly undermined safety to a deadly degree.
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