Congressional committee opens investigation into Penn following president’s testimony on antisemitism
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce also intends to investigate Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The congressional committee that held the hearing on antisemitism on college campuses Tuesday has opened an investigation into the University of Pennsylvania’s policies and disciplinary procedures following President Liz Magill’s testimony.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce also intends to investigate Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose presidents also testified.
“This investigation will include substantial document requests, and the Committee will not hesitate to utilize compulsory measures including subpoenas if a full response is not immediately forthcoming,” said committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, in a press release on the committee’s website.
The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Foxx said other schools can expect probes, too.
“The disgusting targeting and harassment of Jewish students is not limited to these institutions, and other universities should expect investigations as well, as their litany of similar failures has not gone unnoticed,” Foxx said.
A spokesman for the committee said it’s not unusual for the committee to launch investigations into the agencies it oversees, but it is unusual to target colleges.
The uproar began after a congresswoman questioned the three presidents on whether calls for the genocide of Jewish people constituted a violation of their universities’ code of conduct and rules. When asked repeatedly, Magill said: “It is a context-dependent decision.” The other two presidents also used the word “context” in responding.
Magill walked her testimony back in a video she released Wednesday night following criticism from the White House, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and others, saying she does view it as harassment or intimidation and would launch a review of Penn’s policies on free speech.
But criticism has been mounting and the board of trustees held an emergency session earlier Thursday. Trustees have issued no statements or taken any immediate public action.