‘You Know What?’: Dem Rep Comes Unglued After Scott Jennings Asks One Simple Question

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas descended into a rant Wednesday night after Republican strategist Scott Jennings asked a CNN panel if they think ordinary citizens are worried about fire departments not being diverse enough when their homes are “burning down.”

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) pursued a “racial equity plan” under Chief Kristin Crowley, whose biography touts her as “the first female and LGBTQ Fire Chief” in the agency’s history. Crockett’s rant came after Jennings referenced the LAFD’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts after Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota questioned budget cuts by officials in Los Angeles.

“In California, you might recall a news story from last year. There was some interest in the fire departments and the firefighters in California, and the interest was that there were too many white men who were firefighters and we need to have a program in California to make sure we don’t have enough white men as firefighters,” Jennings said, adding, “We have DEI, we have budget cuts, and yet I‘m wondering now, if your house is burning down, how much do you care what color the firefighters are?”

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Crowley stated in a local news segment that promoting diversity was a priority of hers, at one point saying there is “never enough” diversity. LAFD touted a DEI event in an October 2024 video.

“Listen, I am so tired — you know what? There was an article that just came out that said that actually the most educated demographic in this country right now is black women,” Crockett said. “So let me be clear, because you are a woman or because I know that some of the right has been sharing these photos of the fact that I believe that the fire chief may be a woman or something, that has nothing to do with it. We are looking at qualifications. What diversity, equity and inclusion has always been about is saying, you know what, open this up, don’t just look at the white men, open it up and recognize that other people can be qualified.”

“And the fact that we want to, at a time when people are dying, decide that a country of immigrants is failing or people are dying because the same very people that built this country, because the last time I checked, y’all didn‘t say that anything was wrong with the White House, and I can promise you, it was my ancestors that built the White House,” Crockett continued.

Democratic Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles was in Ghana as part of a delegation when the wildfires broke out. The city cut the LAFD’s budget by almost $20 million last year, with the bulk of the cuts hitting the department’s operational supplies.

“So, listen, if we have been good enough to build this country, we are good enough to serve and die overseas, we are good enough to serve in other ways,” Crockett said. “And the fact that people actually decide that they want to engage in public service, whether it’s sitting in Congress or whether it‘s serving on the fire department or the police department, should not be an issue. The fact is, stop trying to act as if only white men are the ones that are capable, because right now you’re sitting at a table with three very capable black women.”

The LAFD called in off-duty firefighters Tuesday night to assist in efforts to battle the wildfires that tore through multiple cities due to a shortage of personnel.

“I’m not,” Jennings said after Crockett’s rant. “I’m just simply saying that as a matter of public policy in California, the main interest in the fire department lately has been DEI programing and budget cuts.”