PHILADELPHIA — “Oh my God, the federal government wants a list of all the Jewish students.”
That is how American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten described her initial reaction to the federal government’s antisemitism investigation at the University of Pennsylvania during a panel Tuesday.
“The fear that went through my spine,” Weingarten said, was “very primal for me.”
But her description went beyond what the public record says the government actually asked for.
The EEOC subpoena sought information connected to Penn employees who had reported antisemitic harassment, employee members of Jewish-related campus organizations and employees in Penn’s Jewish Studies Program — not a list of “all the Jewish students.”
And the investigation did not begin with the current Trump administration.
On December 8, 2023, while Joe Biden was president, EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas filed a discrimination charge alleging Penn had engaged in a pattern or practice of harassment against Jewish employees. The disputed subpoena came later, in July 2025, after Trump returned to office.
The EEOC withdrew that subpoena in July 2026, and Penn said none of the disputed personal information was turned over. The underlying antisemitism investigation continued.
A Real Antisemitism Problem — and a Fight Over How to Investigate It
Weingarten was appearing at a Penn event specifically convened to revisit that fight.
The university titled the panel “EEOC v. University of Pennsylvania: Unsettled Questions about Religious Protections, Privacy, and American Democracy Today,” focusing on the subpoena and its implications for antisemitism, privacy and civil liberties.
But the federal investigation did not emerge in a vacuum.
Penn had documented a series of serious antisemitic incidents. In fall 2023, a swastika was painted inside an academic building; a man entered Penn Hillel shouting antisemitic obscenities; and “The Jews R Nazis” was written next to a Jewish fraternity house.
That November, then-Penn President Liz Magill said staff members received “vile, disturbing antisemitic emails” threatening violence against members of the Jewish community. Penn alerted the FBI. Magill’s public statements and other reports of antisemitism at Penn later became part of the factual basis cited in the federal court record for the EEOC investigation.
That context is important. The investigation began under Biden, concerned alleged discrimination against Jewish employees, and was based in part on incidents Penn itself had acknowledged. Under Trump, the EEOC escalated the investigation and ultimately became the subject of a federal court fight.
So the dispute at the center of Tuesday’s panel was real on both sides. Documented allegations of antisemitism at Penn and a serious fight over how far the federal government could go to investigate them.
Weingarten, however, framed the government’s actions in much broader terms.
“My rights as a Jewish lesbian,” she said, “are going to be far more protected in a democracy than they are in an authoritarian project.”
Four References to “Authoritarianism”
Over roughly 15 minutes, Weingarten invoked “authoritarian,” “authoritarianism” or “authoritarian backsliding” four times.
She spoke first about an “authoritarian project,” then “any kind of authoritarian project.”
Later came “beating authoritarianism” and “this kind of authoritarian backsliding.”
And she explicitly connected that argument to the Trump administration.
“There are endless attacks on freedom of speech and freedom of association,” Weingarten said. “We see this in virtually everything that the Trump administration is doing.”
Weingarten said she did not believe the government’s actions at Penn had “anything to do” with protecting Jewish students or faculty. Instead, she argued, the administration was using Jewish people and antisemitism as an excuse to attack higher education.
She also twice raised the Israel-Palestinian conflict, saying people did not need to share the same positions “on Gaza, on Israel” or “Israel-Palestine” to oppose the government’s actions.
While discussing campus safety, Weingarten broadened her message further.
“We have to keep Jewish students safe,” she said. “We have to keep Muslim students safe. We have to keep every student safe. We have to keep white boys safe. We have to keep trans kids safe.”
Weingarten’s Message: Fear “Authoritarianism” — Then Vote
Then, near the end of her remarks, Weingarten turned explicitly to elections.
“The vehicle for democracy beating authoritarianism, the vehicle is voting,” she said.
She continued by calling for a focus on “voting for people who deeply believe in the principles of democracy and the principles of freedom and the principles of opportunity.”
The comments come as the union Weingarten leads is openly mobilizing ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
AFT says it now represents 1.875 million members nationwide, including teachers, higher-education employees, healthcare workers and government employees. The union also explicitly lists “political activism” among the ways it advances its mission.
At AFT’s national convention in July, the union reported that Weingarten urged its 1.875 million members to “get out the vote” ahead of the midterms.
That context makes remarks delivered during a university panel that most rank-and-file workers were unlikely to hear relevant beyond Penn.
Why Union Members Should Pay Attention
The antisemitism Penn experienced was documented and serious. The university took extraordinary steps in response, including involving the FBI.
The privacy and constitutional questions surrounding the EEOC subpoena were serious as well.
But precision matters in a dispute this sensitive.
Weingarten began by saying the federal government wanted “a list of all the Jewish students.” The public court record instead describes an employment discrimination investigation involving Jewish employees and a subpoena seeking information about certain employees connected to Jewish organizations and programs.
She described her reaction as “primal” fear.
She invoked authoritarianism four times.
She broadly attacked the Trump administration’s approach.
And she finished by telling the audience that “the real vehicle is voting.”
For the 1.875 million workers represented by AFT, the remarks offer a window into how their national union president is describing major public controversies and how she is connecting those controversies to the politics of 2026.
Watch the video here.
Editor’s Note: Americans for Fair Treatment covers the activities, spending and public positions of government unions and their leaders as part of its work to help public employees understand their rights and make informed decisions about union membership and representation. AFFT’s mission includes educating workers about union membership, dues and political causes and advocating for constitutional freedom in the workplace.