The Trump administration has abandoned its push to force the University of Pennsylvania to disclose the names and contact details of its Jewish employees, marking a retreat in a high-profile clash over antisemitism investigations on campus. Court documents filed Thursday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reveal that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) struck a deal with the Ivy League school to “not take any further measures to enforce the subpoena seeking identification and personal contact information of employees of the University of Pennsylvania.”
In exchange, Penn agreed to drop its appeal of the subpoena, ending more than a year of litigation that had drawn national attention. The university had fiercely resisted the demand, arguing it threatened the privacy and safety of Jewish faculty and staff while raising constitutional red flags.
“With the support of many members of the community who have stood with Penn throughout, the University has been able to protect its employees’ rights and none of the subpoenaed personal contact information was disclosed,” a university spokesperson said in a statement. “Penn remains committed to fighting antisemitism and all other forms of discrimination, to ensure everyone it serves can learn, work and thrive.”
The EEOC declined to comment beyond the court filings. The agency had sought the information as part of a broader investigation into allegations of antisemitism at Penn following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Investigators wanted to identify potential witnesses or victims among employees tied to Jewish organizations, including the university’s Jewish Studies program.
Penn pushed back hard. In a January court filing challenging the subpoena, the university warned of the “frightening and well-documented history of governmental entities that undertook efforts to identify and assemble information regarding persons of Jewish ancestry.” The school argued that the EEOC was demanding the data without employee consent and over their objections, violating privacy protections.
The legal standoff escalated last November when the EEOC sued Penn to enforce the subpoena. But under Thursday’s agreement, the agency also pledged not to seek enforcement of a district court order or otherwise pursue the information from Penn while its administrative investigations remain pending.
The resolution comes as the Trump administration continues to ratchet up pressure on universities over antisemitism, a key political issue that has also fueled debates on federal funding conditions and campus speech policies. Penn’s victory in shielding its employees’ identities is likely to reverberate among other schools facing similar scrutiny.
While the EEOC’s broader probe into antisemitism at Penn may continue, the agency’s decision to back down on the subpoena represents a significant concession. Critics of the administration’s tactics had argued that the demand risked chilling academic freedom and targeting individuals based on religion. Supporters, however, insisted it was a necessary step to root out campus hate.
For now, Penn has secured a legal win that protects its employees’ personal data, but the underlying tensions over antisemitism and government oversight on college campuses are far from settled.
