Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) delivered a fiery takedown of CNN commentator Scott Jennings after he blamed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs for the devastating wildfires raging across Southern California. The blazes have claimed at least five lives and scorched thousands of acres, with no end in sight.
Jennings used his platform on CNN’s NewsNight to link the ongoing crisis to efforts aimed at diversifying California’s firefighting workforce. He referenced a 2024 report about a program designed to address the lack of diversity among firefighters.
“[I]n California, you might have recalled a news story from last year,” Jennings said. “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.”
He went on to suggest that DEI initiatives and budget cuts were hindering firefighting efforts. “If your house was burning down, how much do you care what color the firefighters are?” Jennings asked.
Crockett didn’t hold back in her response. She called out Jennings for misrepresenting the purpose of DEI programs and for trying to use a tragedy to stoke racial divisions.
“So, let me be clear,” Crockett said. “Because you are a woman or because – 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.’”
Crockett also pushed back on Jennings’ broader narrative. “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,” she said. “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.”
When Jennings tried to clarify that he wasn’t saying only White men could be firefighters, Crockett dismissed his argument. Host Abby Phillip then asked, “But Scott, are we really blaming the fire department? The L.A. fire department?”
Jennings deflected, shifting his criticism to California’s Democratic leadership. “No, I’m blaming the Democrats who run the state,” he said.
This wasn’t the only finger-pointing about DEI programs that night. Over on Fox News, host Laura Ingraham partially blamed the fires on Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, calling her “another DEI hire of the Biden administration.”
Watch the clip below via CNN:
Crockett: It was my ancestors that built the White House. If we have been good enough to build this country, we are good enough to serve in other ways. Stop trying to act as if only white men are the ones that are capable because you’re sitting with 3 very capable black women pic.twitter.com/x20Vw2sQ6O
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 9, 2025
