$100,000: Congress looks askance at teachers union chief’s limo bill

House Republicans allege that pro-Democrat teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten may have improperly spent union funds on personal luxuries, according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The House Education and Workforce Committee inquired about public records showing that the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) spent more than $100,000 on private limousine services since September 2023 in a Thursday letter to the AFT. Lawmakers have also received reports from unnamed sources that Weingarten, the union’s president, has paid for other conveniences such as a private driver, the letter says. The influential union boss previously drew criticism by advocating for schools to stay closed during the COVID-19 pandemic despite data showing such restrictions were pointless.

08.07.25 AFT Letter by Hudson Crozier

“If substantiated, these allegations reveal a troubling lack of accountability within AFT leadership,” reads the letter signed by Republican Committee Chair Tim Walberg of Michigan and Republican Rep. Rick Allen of Georgia. Spending member dues on items such as limousines may not comply with federal law that requires Weingarten to “manage the union’s expenses solely for the benefit of AFT and its members,” the committee wrote.

The AFT did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

The committee also noted that Weingarten received an extra $42,105 to her $457,769 gross salary in fiscal year 2024. “Committee sources allege that part of your reimbursements covered personal international travel unrelated to AFT business and that union funds were used to provide you with a full-time private driver,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter asks the AFT to provide details on whether it regularly spends funds on first-class travel, records of financial transactions and other information.

AFT has previously spent millions of dollars in member dues on Democratic political agendas, the DCNF reported. Weingarten announced in June that she was leaving her role as an at-large member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), though she is still a “proud” Democrat.

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