(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Education’s Office watchdog is launching an investigation into the agency’s sensitive data systems, according to a letter first obtained by ABC News.
The news comes after Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a group of her Democratic colleagues sent a letter requesting a probe of the Department of Government Efficiency’s alleged “infiltration” of the Education Department’s Federal Student Aid office, which handles the nation’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio.
This week, the Education Department’s acting Office of Inspector General confirmed it would work to review that data. The OIG office is the statutory, independent entity within the department responsible for identifying fraud, waste, abuse and criminal activity involving department funds, programs, and operations, according to its website.
Asked about the investigation, the Department of Education referred ABC News to an appeals court decision last month, which did allow DOGE access to sensitive data at several agencies, including the student loan portfolio at the department. The White House claimed President Trump’s success through DOGE is “undisputed,” “legal” and yielding “historic results.”
Warren has led the charge in investigating the Trump administration’s changes at federal agencies, including the Education Department and Social Security Administration. She argued the American people should know who is “digging” into their personal data.
“The American people deserve to know if Elon Musk’s DOGE guys had access to private Social Security numbers and income information,” Warren told ABC News. “It’s about time these amateurs in the Education Department were investigated.”
Sensitive data that Warren warned could be vulnerable includes anything from borrowers’ social security numbers to personal information that is used within the National Student Loan Data Systems.
The acting inspector general said it “plans to look into the Department’s processes for managing access to several sensitive Department data systems.” This will be a coordinated effort with the Government Accountability Office, which is also looking into issues involving access and handling of sensitive data at the department, according to the letter from the acting inspector general.
The OIG claimed its probe will begin “shortly,” but a timeline for when — or if — a final report would be issued was not immediately available.
In June, the Democratic group of senators accused the Department of Education of refusing to comply with Warren’s monthslong congressional investigation into what, if any, records have been accessed by DOGE employees that could be sensitive.
“The Department of Education has a responsibility to protect student loan borrowers’ sensitive data and ensure it doesn’t get into the wrong hands,” Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján said in a statement to ABC News. “I’m thankful that the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General heeded our call and will now launch an investigation into DOGE’s reckless takeover. All Americans deserve clarity and accountability regarding the full extent of DOGE’s role and influence at the Department of Education.”
Meanwhile, Warren’s Save Our Schools campaign launched in April to investigate the Department of Education closure. Nearly half the agency’s staff has been reduced, including hundreds of FSA employees.
Warren previously told ABC News that staffing cuts to the agency would have dire consequences on students interested in obtaining higher education. A fierce advocate of public education, Warren has vowed to fight the administration’s federal education-reduction efforts at every turn.
The department has made several changes since Secretary of Education Linda McMahon was sworn in as the nation’s education chief. Shortly after taking the position, McMahon, who comes from many years of experience in the private sector, noted that DOGE was conducting a solid audit of the agency.
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