Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas launched into a heated response Wednesday night after Republican strategist Scott Jennings posed a question on a CNN panel, asking if ordinary citizens are concerned about the lack of diversity in fire departments when their homes are “burning down.”
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), under Chief Kristin Crowley—who is described as “the first female and LGBTQ Fire Chief” in the department’s history—pursued a “racial equity plan.” Crockett’s outburst followed remarks by Jennings, who brought up the LAFD’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives after Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota questioned FD budget cuts by Los Angeles officials.
In a local news segment, Crowley emphasized that promoting diversity was a key priority for her, even stating that there is “never enough” diversity. The LAFD highlighted a DEI event in an October 2024 video. Also, Democratic Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles was in Ghana as part of a delegation when the wildfires erupted. Last year, the city reduced the LAFD’s budget by nearly $20 million, with the majority of the cuts affecting the department’s operational supplies.
“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?”
“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 whined. “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 added.
“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 continued to rant. “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.”
“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” rather than a main focus on qualifications to become a firefighter regardless of skin color or other ‘diverse’ qualities.
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