'Where There's Smoke, There's Fire:' Oklahoma Lawmaker Requests Federal Investigation Into Department Of Education

An Oklahoma lawmaker is asking the federal government to open an investigation into the State Department of Education.

“I do think that when there is smoke, there’s fire,” outgoing education budget chairman Mark McBride, R-Moore, said.

He reached out in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona asking the department’s inspector general to open an investigation into the state department of education.

“There’s so much controversy over the last 18 months over federal funds, how it’s spent, how much they applied for, when are we getting them? Are they late? We’re not getting them the right amount,” he said.

McBride said his questions to state superintendent Ryan Walters have gone unanswered. And he’s worried the investigation by the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency does not go deep enough.

“I think some of these people should be sworn in, to be accountable,” he said.

“This is just another step in the ongoing effort by Speaker McCall and his lap dog, Mark McBride, to impeach Superintendent Walters and try to clear the path for the 2026 election,” State Department of Education Spokesman Dan Isett said in a statement. “McBride is a lame duck and pushes union policies like keeping porn in schools and woke indoctrination in the classroom while opposing parents.”

“I think any Republican out there would agree that waste, fraud, and abuse is something that we should jump on that that’s a Republican thing to look at,” McBride said.

Isett sent an update to his statement:

"Mark McBride at the bidding of Speaker McCall has become an arsonist in Oklahoma. Due to his antics and the bidding of the teachers unions he has led the defeat of many of his colleagues who are out of step with Oklahoma values."