In an unconventional appearance on the House Oversight Committee on Thursday, Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett delivered a scathing rebuke of the hearing’s focus, transforming her allotted time into a defense of Democratic immigration policies and a broad critique of what she termed “political theater.”
The committee, convened to question Democratic Governors JB Pritzker of Illinois, Tim Walz of Minnesota, and Kathy Hochul of New York on their states’ “sanctuary” policies amidst ongoing Los Angeles immigration protests, became the stage for Crockett’s forceful intervention.
Crockett directly apologized to the governors for the “abuse” and “wasting your time” she felt they were enduring.
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She dismissed the proceedings as “nothing more than political theater,” asserting that the committee’s true mandate—addressing “waste, fraud, and abuse”—had been abandoned in favor of what she cryptically referred to as “this full creation of DOGE,” likely an intended misstatement for a spectacle or charade.
Crockett’s rant pivoted to the economic repercussions of what she branded “failed immigration policies,” directly linking them to “a reality show president who seemingly still believes that this is all about TV instead of real lives.”
She expressed alarm over a projected “billion dollars in international vendor spending” loss in U.S. tourism by 2025, a concern corroborated by Governor Hochul, who noted a decline in tourism across New York due to perceived “hostility toward their country.”
The Texas representative then launched into a sharp critique of the committee’s perceived selective outrage regarding crime.
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She challenged the disproportionate focus on offenses committed by immigrants, contrasting it with what she saw as a glaring silence on issues of white supremacy.
“I don’t know how many hearings we gonna have about the fact that there’s been this one immigrant that killed this one person,” Crockett exclaimed, highlighting the absence of committee hearings on events like El Paso or Charleston. She accused the panel of “cherry pick[ing]” and “lov[ing] to pal around with the white supremacists.”
Economically, Crockett continued her offensive, questioning the fiscal responsibility of Republican-led states.
She cited an alleged $221 million spent by Texas on transporting migrants to other states, suggesting a more productive use for those funds. She also drew attention to the estimated $134 million cost of deploying the National Guard and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles during the recent protests—a deployment she asserted was neither requested by the governor nor the mayor of LA.
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Furthermore, she criticized the conditions of this deployment, claiming service members were “laying on the floor” without adequate food.
In a concluding flourish, Rep. Crockett underscored the principle of due process, drawing a parallel to the legal challenges faced by President Donald Trump.
She argued that due process “should be afforded to everybody, even him,” referencing the Fifth Amendment’s application to “anyone on our soil.”
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