"A big con job": Trump bets on "immediate" closure of the Department of Education

Donald Trump favored "immediately" shutting down the Department of Education. After announcing cuts of nearly $1 billion, the president went a step further during a press conference in which he called it "a big con job," given the nation's global ranking and per-pupil cost.

"Oh, I’d like it to be closed immediately. Look, the Department of Education is a big con job. We’re ranked — so they ranked the top forty countries in the world. We’re ranked number 40th, but we’re ranked number one in one department, costs per pupil. So, we spend more per pupil than any other country in the world, but we’re ranked number 40. We’ve been between 38 and 40, the last time I looked it was 38 and then I looked two days ago … it came out at number 40."

"Something's really wrong"

The president went on to list the top-ranked countries, including one of the country's main competitors, "Norway, Denmark, Sweden, I hate to say it — China, as big as it is, it’s ranked in the top five. That’s a primary competitor. We’re ranked number 40 — so, if we’re ranked number 40, that means something’s really wrong, right?"

For Trump, the solution involves giving education back to the states: "I say send it back to Iowa, to Idaho, to Colorado. We probably have 35, maybe 37 states that will do as well as Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden. They’ll be just as good."

Nearly $1 billion in cuts at Education Dept

Trump's remarks come on the heels of the announcement that the DOGE had cut $881 million at the department through the termination of 89 contracts and grants. The cuts included 29 DEI-related grants, and the payment of $1.5 million for "observing mailing and clerical operations" at a mail center.