Federal officials moved major Education Department programs to other agencies this week, prompting state education chiefs and tribal leaders to warn of added bureaucracy and service disruption. Governors and state superintendents told reporters the transfers—shifting functions to Labor, Interior and HHS—create unclear lines of responsibility for funding and compliance. Tribal leaders said transfers affecting Native education were announced without the statutorily required government-to-government consultation. The Standing Rock Sioux chairman Steve Sitting Bear and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s Ahniwake Rose said the change risks fracturing support for Tribal Colleges and Universities and K–12 programs funded through the ED. Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland said the department will "engage closely" with tribes going forward, but tribal leaders called that insufficient given the statutory consultation obligation. States including California and Washington said the move increases administrative burden and could worsen services for students who rely on federal supports. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has defended the transfers as lawful and aimed at streamlining services; critics point to immediate operational confusion and potential funding delays for schools and colleges.