At Warren’s Request, Independent Government Watchdog Opens Investigation Into Trump’s Efforts to Dismantle Education Department

Washington, D.C. —Following arequestfrom Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent government watchdog, has opened an investigation into the Department of Education’s (ED) transfer of grant programs to the Department of Labor — a key step in the Trump administration’s efforts to illegally dismantle and abolish ED.
"Donald Trump and Linda McMahon are trying to sabotage crucial programs by ripping them out of the Education Department and sending them off to agencies with zero expertise,"said Senator Warren. "This independent investigation is an important step in holding this administration accountable for its dangerous plans to abolish the Department of Education and hurt students.”
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 interagency agreement (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. Combined, Perkins V and AEFLA serve more than 12 million students. Public reporting has revealed significant problems with the transfer, including weeks-long delays in grant disbursements.
On February 19, 2026, the senatorsasked GAO to investigatethe 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.
“GAO accepts your request as work that is within the scope of its authority,”wrote agency officials, noting that the investigation would begin “shortly” and be conducted by its Education and Information Technology investigators.
Senator Warren has led the fight to make our higher education system more affordable, cancel student loan debt, and hold student loan servicers accountable for incompetence and malfeasance. She launched theSave Our Schoolscampaign in a coordinated effort to fight back against President Trump’s attempts to abolish the Department of Education.
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