The Education Department’s experiment of shifting administration of federal career, technical and adult-education grants to the Labor Department is encountering technical and operational failures, officials and contractors told Politico. Problems with new grant payment systems, communication lapses and a delayed government shutdown have snarled distribution of a $1.4 billion program meant to support schools and local workforce initiatives. The stumbles risk undermining the administration’s broader strategy to move programs out of ED and may leave grantees without timely funding. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has asked the agency’s inspector general to open a formal probe into the effort, saying the transfers could cause “devastating consequences for students, borrowers, and families.” Warren’s letter seeks an accounting of the decision-making behind program moves and whether staff reductions and outsourcing have degraded service for borrowers and institutions. The request signals growing congressional scrutiny as officials assess both legality and practical impacts of shifting ED responsibilities across the federal government.