Following Warren Request, Independent Government Watchdog Expands Investigation Into Trump Admin Efforts to Dismantle Education Department

Skip to primary navigation Skip to content × Close Mobile Nav About About Elizabeth Committee Assignments About Massachusetts Voting Record Contact Share Your Opinion Help with a Federal Agency Office Locations Send me Updates Share Your CFPB Story Save Our Schools Services Help with a Federal Agency Return to Repayment Guide Visiting DC/Tours Flag Request Internships Meeting Requests Academy Nominations Special Recognitions Grants Small Businesses Veterans, Servicemembers and Military Families FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act Requests FY 2027 Appropriations Requests Oversight Reports Letters Social Security War Room Save Our Schools Campaign Legislation Newsroom News Coverage Press Releases Op-Eds Videos × Close Site Search search Elizabeth Warren Senator Elizabeth Warren's Facebook Page (This link opens in new window or tab.) Senator Elizabeth Warren's BlueSky (This link opens in new window or tab.) Senator Elizabeth Warren's Twitter (This link opens in new window or tab.) Senator Elizabeth Warren's Youtube (This link opens in new window or tab.) Senator Elizabeth Warren's Instagram (This link opens in new window or tab.) About About Elizabeth Committee Assignments About Massachusetts Voting Record Contact Share Your Opinion Help with a Federal Agency Office Locations Send me Updates Share Your CFPB Story Save Our Schools Services Help with a Federal Agency Return to Repayment Guide Visiting DC/Tours Flag Request Internships Meeting Requests Academy Nominations Special Recognitions Grants Small Businesses Veterans, Servicemembers and Military Families FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act Requests FY 2027 Appropriations Requests Oversight Reports Letters Social Security War Room Save Our Schools Campaign Legislation Newsroom News Coverage Press Releases Op-Eds Videos Español Close Search Open Search Popup Popup Search Close Search Popup MENU Senator Elizabeth Warren's Facebook Page (This link opens in new window or tab.) Senator Elizabeth Warren's BlueSky (This link opens in new window or tab.) Senator Elizabeth Warren's Twitter (This link opens in new window or tab.) Senator Elizabeth Warren's Youtube (This link opens in new window or tab.) Senator Elizabeth Warren's Instagram (This link opens in new window or tab.) Home Newsroom Press Releases May 28, 2026 Following Warren Request, Independent Government Watchdog Expands Investigation Into Trump Admin Efforts to Dismantle Education Department Government Accountability Office (GAO) announces investigation into transfer of defaulted student loan portfolio from Education Department (ED) to Treasury Department, other interagency agreements Text of GAO Letter (PDF) Washington, D.C. – In response to a request from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent government watchdog, confirmed the expansion of its investigation into the Department of Education’s (ED) transfer of critical programs to other agencies through interagency agreements (IAAs), including the transfer of student loan default collections to the Department of the Treasury. GAO previously confirmed it had initiated an investigation into ED’s transfer of grant programs for career and technical education and adult education to the Department of Labor. “The Trump administration is hurting students, families, and teachers by ripping important programs out of the Education Department and shipping them off to agencies with no expertise. This independent investigation is a major step forward in our work to protect students and save our schools,” said Senator Warren. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations; and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, joined Warren’s initial request . Last year, the Trump administration formalized an IAA moving the day-to-day management of career and technical education and adult education grant programs, like Perkins V and AEFLA, from ED to the Labor Department. On February 19, the senators asked GAO to investigate the IAA—and any future IAAs—and the agreements’ impacts on program costs, timely access to funding, access to services, and quality of technical assistance for grantees. On March 11, the GAO confirmed it had opened an investigation into ED’s transfer of grant programs to the Department of Labor, writing: “GAO accepts your request as work that is within the scope of its authority.” Now, GAO is expanding its probe. In the new letter, GAO wrote that it has initiated work in response to the lawmakers’ February request for a review of the impacts of ED’s IAAs and that it intends to initiate additional workstreams reviewing other IAAs announced by ED, including the transfer of student loan default collections from ED to the Treasury Depar