Sens. Warren and Sanders ask congressional watchdog to investigate Department of Education dismantling

February 20, 2026

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, center, and Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) -- Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are petitioning the Government Accountability Office to investigate the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.

In a letter first obtained by ABC News, the two senators call for nonpartisan congressional watchdog to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the department winding down its functions and transferring offices to other agencies.

"Students and families deserve better -- we need a full independent investigation into the latest attempts to sabotage our schools," Warren, D-Mass., wrote in a statement to ABC News.

Led by Warren and Sanders, I-Vt., and signed by Democrats Patty Murray of Washington and Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin, the letter alleges that the Education Department is illegally dismantling itself through its interagency agreement with the Department of Labor that allowed Labor to administer adult education, family literacy and career and technical education (CTE) programs previously homed in the department.

"We are deeply concerned that the administration's decisions to implement CTE and adult education grant programs in this manner delayed crucial funding that millions of students and schools rely on," the senators wrote.

They also said they worry that the decisions may have created "administrative inefficiencies, increased the cost of program administration, and compromised the quality of technical assistance provided to states and grantees."

GAO is working through its process to determine the next steps in responding to the senators' request, a spokesperson with the agency confirmed to ABC News.

Education Department spokeswoman Savannah Newhouse argued that the lawmakers' request prioritizes bureaucrats over students.

"The Trump Administration will not sit idle while students, educators, and states suffer under our broken federal education system which undermines our economy, national security, and civic health," Newhouse wrote in a statement to ABC News. "Also, as the Senators likely know, interagency agreements are a standard, lawful tool used across government -- including by the Biden Administration's own DOJ and Bureau of Prisons to allow the Department of Labor to administer grants under the First Step Act," she added.

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has also defended the department's moves. She said in a statement in July that the way the education and workforce programs had been administered was "inefficient and duplicative" and they needed to be streamlined in order to best serve students and families.

The workforce development partnership between the two agencies launched last summer following President Donald Trump's executive order entitled "Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future." In November, the Department of Education made an additional announcement that it would transfer some of its offices to other government agencies, including the departments of State, Health and Human Services, and Interior.

A senior department official said the interagency agreements (IAA) marked a "major step forward" in abolishing the agency and fulfilling McMahon's mission of returning education to the states. The senators' letter requested that GAO extend its probe into all of the IAAs because they allegedly attempted to transfer "statutory requirements" to other agencies. They're requesting GAO determine whether the moves jeopardize services for students, weaken federal support to protect the rights of students, children, youth and families, and affect other indicators of program integrity and quality.

The GAO works to provide timely, fact-based, non-partisan information that can be used to improve government, per the agency's website. The senators' latest request is a part of Warren's Save Our Schools campaign that she launched last year to investigate the administration's attempts to shutter the education department.

Peoria Federation of Teachers union representative Michael Brix worries that the Education and Labor partnerships could roll back CTE progress for his students.

"When we hear of these changes, the Department of Education being dismantled, and then other departments then taking on similar roles -- or the same roles -- it's very nervous not knowing what is coming ahead," he said, adding, "It's kind of scary."

Editor's note: This story's headline has been updated to reflect that the senators want the GAO to investigate the Department of Education's dismantling.