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Trump blasts ‘big con job’ Dept. of Education, would like it closed ‘immediately’

February 13, 2025 | | Print Article

President Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of the Department of Education, calling it a “big con job” as he spoke to reporters.

The president confirmed that he would like to shutter the bloated department “immediately” as he responded to questions in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

“How soon do you want the Department of Education to be closed?” a reporter asked. Trump was speaking about Elon Musk’s work leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in rooting out government waste and fraud.

(Video Credit: Forbes Breaking News)

“I’d like it to be closed immediately,” Trump replied. “Look, the Department of Education’s a big con job.”

“So they ranked the top 40 countries in the world. We’re ranked number 40th. But we’re ranked number one in one department: Cost per pupil,” he continued.

“So we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world. But we’re ranked number 40. We’ve been between 38th and 40. The last time I looked, it was 38. And then I look, two days ago it came out the new list. It came out at number 40. So we’re ranked 40,” Trump said.

“Norway, Denmark, Sweden. I hate to say it, China – as big as it is, it’s ranked in the top five – that’s our, that’s a primary competitor. We’re ranked number 40. So if we’re ranked number 40, that means something is really wrong, right?” he asked.

The president reiterated his stance that education should be handled on a state level and praised red states like Iowa for doing so well.

The department states that its mission is “to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access for students of all ages.”

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The Department of Education was created under President Jimmy Carter’s administration following the split of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. It reportedly had 4,400 employees and a $68 billion budget.

“So we have a Department of Education where people from Washington, D.C., who many in many cases don’t care about the kids out in the country, they don’t care about the farms and the farmer’s daughter and the father’s – farmer’s sons,” Trump told reporters. “We have a massive bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. We have buildings that are all over the city Department of Education.”

“By the way, nobody shows up to work because they’re all working at home, you know, ‘working at home.’ They’re not working at home. And a lot of them have second jobs. And that’s the other thing that Elon Musk is looking at. How many of these people are getting checks working at home, but they’re not working because they have second jobs and even third jobs?” Trump continued. “You’re going to find a lot of them and those people are going to be fired because we have to make our government smaller.”

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Frieda Powers
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