A coalition of senators, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), is demanding an independent investigation into the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after revelations that a DOGE employee gained “read-only access” to two internal systems of the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Federal Student Aid (FSA) — systems that contain sensitive personal information for millions of Americans.
The push for an investigation comes after ED disclosed, in response to a Senate inquiry, that a DOGE employee was granted access to FSA’s Financial Management System (FMS) and Partner Connect. These systems hold information pertaining to individuals involved in Title IV loan and grant programs, raising significant privacy concerns.
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“The full extent of DOGE’s role and influence at ED remains unknown,” the senators wrote in a letter dated June 8, 2025, to René Rocque, Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education. They emphasized that this lack of clarity is “not only frustrating for borrowers but also dangerous for the future of an agency that handles an extensive student loan portfolio and a range of federal aid programs for higher education.”
The senators, including Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), initiated their investigation following what they termed DOGE’s “takeover” of the Education Department earlier this year.
While ED confirmed that the DOGE employee’s access to FMS and Partner Connect has since been “revoked,” the Department has reportedly failed to provide crucial details. The senators noted that ED did not explain why the access was revoked, whether the employee still retains access to other ED databases, or what measures have been taken to ensure the sensitive borrower information will not be released or misused.
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Furthermore, the letter highlights ED’s refusal to disclose whether DOGE gained access to the National Student Loan Data System or any other database holding sensitive federal student loan borrower data.
The Department also declined to provide identifying information or an exact number of DOGE employees granted access to ED’s IT and data systems.
The senators are now urging the ED Office of Inspector General (OIG) to conduct a comprehensive review to determine if ED adhered to the Privacy Act and other applicable laws concerning the management of borrower and institutional data.
They also requested an evaluation of the potential impact of DOGE’s reported plans to consolidate Americans’ personal information across various government databases, a move they warn “would break a longstanding covenant between the federal government and the U.S. public rooted in privacy laws.”
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