Trump on Democrats at the Education Department: 'I See Maxine Waters, a Lowlife'; U.S. 'Dead Last' but No. 1 in 'Cost per Pupil' (February 7, 2025)

Democratic lawmakers had tried to get into the Department of Education, and a reporter asked President Donald Trump about it. “You mentioned the Department of Education. What did you think when you saw Democratic lawmakers trying to get into the Department of Education earlier today?” the reporter asked at Trump’s news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Feb. 7, 2025 [1].

“Oh, I see the same ones. I see Maxine Waters, a lowlife. I see, you know, all these people. They don’t—they don’t love our country. They don’t love our country,” Trump said, according to the transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

The video above shows the exchange at the White House on Feb. 7, 2025. Quotes are from the American Presidency Project and the Federal Register [1][2].

”Dead Last”

Trump turned to the numbers. “We want great education. So they rank 40 countries in education. We’re ranked dead last—dead last. But the good news is we’re number one in one category. You know what that is? Cost per pupil,” he said [1].

“We spend more per pupil than on—any other country in the world. You look at Norway, Denmark, Sweden, various countries all up and down—Finland—China does very well in education—and then you look at us,” Trump said [1].

“And yet we’re ranked, this year, last—Biden’s last year—congratulations, Joe—we’re ranked dead last,” he said [1].

”Go Back to the States”

Trump said he wanted Washington out of the classroom. “So what I want to see is education. Number one, I like choice. We all like choice. But beyond choice—long beyond choice, I want to see it go back to the States, where great States that do so well—have no debt, they’re operated brilliantly,” he said [1].

“I figure 35 to 38 States will be right at the top, and the rest will come along. They’ll have to come along, competitively. And by the way, we’ll be spending a lot less money, and we’ll have great education,” Trump said [1].

”A Con Job”

Before the education question, Trump described what his cost-cutters were finding at another agency. “I mean, virtually every investment made is a con job. There’s nothing of value to anybody, unless there’s a kickback scheme going on, which is possible,” he said [1].

“We’re going to be looking at Department of Education. We’re going to be looking at even our military. We’re going to be looking at tremendous amounts of money, Peter, being spent on things that bear no relationship to anything and have no value,” Trump said [1].

”I’m With the Vice President”

A reporter asked about a cost-cutting engineer who lost his job over inappropriate posts. “As part of this DOGE cost-cutting effort, one of the DOGE engineers was fired for some inappropriate posts. The Vice President says, ‘Bring him back.’ What do you say?” [1]

“Well, I don’t know about the particular thing, but if the Vice President said that—did you say that?” Trump asked. “I did say that,” Vice President JD Vance answered. “I’m with the Vice President,” Trump said, to laughter [1].

”I Wish He Wasn’t So Strong”

Trump also praised his guest. “I think that he is going to be a great Prime Minister. I think he’s a very strong man—very, very strong,” Trump said of Ishiba. “I wish he wasn’t so strong. [ Laughter ] I wish he was a little bit weaker than that, but that’s what I got.” [1]

“Japan has invested nearly $800 billion—and that’s going to go up very, very substantially in the coming months—more than any other country,” Trump said [1].

“As a result of our victory in 2024, the Presidential election, the Japanese investment and technology giant SoftBank announced plans to invest between $100 and $200 billion,” Trump said. “We agreed to cooperate even more closely to combat the Chinese economic aggression, which is quite aggressive.” [1]

By the Numbers

40: countries in the education ranking Trump cited [1].
1: where the U.S. ranks in cost per pupil, per Trump [1].
$800 billion: Japan’s investment in the U.S., per Trump [1].
$200 billion: what taxpayers spent on schools during COVID-19, per Trump’s later order [2].

What Happened Next

Trump ordered the Department of Education closed. On March 20, 2025, he signed Executive Order 14242. Section 2, “Closing the Department of Education and Returning Authority to the States,” directs: “The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.” [2]

The order says “the experiment of controlling American education through Federal programs and dollars—and the unaccountable bureaucracy those programs and dollars support—has plainly failed our children, our teachers, and our families.” [2]

“While the Department of Education does not educate anyone, it maintains a public relations office that includes over 80 staffers at a cost of more than $10 million per year,” the order says [2].

For Trump telling North Carolina that states should handle disaster relief, see HYGO News’ page on Jan. 24, 2025. For Tiffany Trump on school choice at the 2020 convention, see the page on Aug. 25, 2020.