‘You can expect more,’ Rep. Maxine Waters says of stunt 

Democrats surrounded and harassed a stoic federal security guard blocking the Department of Education building as they demanded to be let into the building Friday morning.

The guard, who said he was a federal employee with security responsibilities, stood with his arms crossed and sounded annoyed as the Democrats and the accompanying crowd grilled him. He consistently had to repeat his answers for Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.), who apparently couldn’t hear him.

“I want you to see this man here who is a federal employee, he told us,” Waters said. 

“No, he’s not!” the crowd interjected. 

“Are you a federal employee?” Waters asked the guard. 

“Yes,” he responded.

“Huh?”

“Yes,” the guard repeated, this time louder with an annoyed tone.

At another point, Waters, 86, demanded his identification, which she’d apparently already seen.

“Tell us your name. Give me that I.D. again,” Waters said.

“I’ve given you the I.D. I showed it to you,” the guard said.

“Say what?”

“I showed you the I.D.”

“You do what?”

“I showed you the I.D.,” the guard said, this time slower and more enunciated.

Other Democrats in the crowd included Reps. Greg Casar (Texas), Maxwell Frost (Fla.), Mark Takano (Calif.), Jahana Hayes (Conn.), and Nydia Velázquez (N.Y.). They hoped to enter the Education Department building and meet with the acting secretary. Takano told the guard he’d sent the acting secretary a letter alerting her that Democrats would be coming for a meeting.

Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have recently set their sights on the Education Department, which President Donald Trump aims to dismantle. He said Tuesday that he hopes his education secretary nominee, Linda McMahon, will “put herself out of a job.”

On Monday, Democrats led a less-than-inspiring protest against the Trump administration’s abrupt shut down of the U.S. Agency for International Development. That night, a CNN NewsNight panel laughed at a clip of Waters and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D.) chanting during the rally. Late night host Jimmy Kimmel played the clip on his show and said, “We are so f—ed.”

During Friday’s standoff, Waters called into MSNBC to speak about the incident. Host Ana Cabrera asked if this type of protest would be “a new tactic or strategy” for Democrats to rail against Trump. 

“Should we expect more?” she asked Waters. 

“Yes. You can expect more,” Waters said. 

Waters also described security inside the Education Department building as “gun-loading people” and asked the crowd if they were “prepared to shoot us.”

“Are you prepared to stand here all night if we decide to stay?” Waters asked the guard.

“I guess, yeah,” the guard replied.