Sens. Ossoff, Rev. Warnock Demand Answers After Trump Administration Plans to Outsource Education Department’s Civil Rights Enforcement

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock are demanding answers as the Trump Administration reportedly ends civil rights enforcement within the Department of Education.

Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock are demanding answers from Education Secretary Linda McMahon after reports the Trump Administration intends to outsource responsibilities of the Department of Education's civil rights division to the Department of Justice (DOJ), leaving unanswered questions about the status of pending cases of potential civil rights abuses.

Under the new agreements between the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the DOJ, the Justice Department will take on civil rights enforcement, some of which includes "complaint investigation" and "resolution processes."

This announcement follows the gutting of the Office for Civil Rights last year, when the Education Department closed a total of seven OCR offices across the nation, which impacted "nearly 60,000 public schools" and "over 30 million K-12 students."

"We write with serious concerns regarding the Department of Education's potential dereliction of its duty to ensure children in Georgia receive a quality education free from discrimination," Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock wrote to Secretary McMahon. "Despite this responsibility, the Trump Administration has chosen to fire Department of Education staff and enter into interagency agreements to outsource the agency's formal duties."

"We have heard from constituents that have been harmed by these actions, and we are concerned this Department will continue to harm Georgia students. We demand that further action to dismantle the Department of Education be stopped," Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock continued.

Sen. Ossoff continues to hold the Trump Administration accountable for gutting key civil rights programs.

In June, Sen. Ossoff joined Senate colleagues in urging the Trump Administration to halt changes affecting the Office for Civil Rights and preserve the Department's capacity to enforce federal civil rights laws.

In October 2025, Sen. Ossoff joined Senate colleagues in urging the Trump Administration to halt illegal efforts to shut down the Department of Education's administration and enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Click here to read the Sens. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock's inquiry.

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