Rep. Crockett goes viral over criticism of 'Dismantle DEI' bill, Republicans' use of 'oppression'

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United States Rep. Jasmine Crockett is defending the now-viral comments she made on Wednesday toward Republican colleagues who had a bill in markup titled “Dismantle DEI" during a House committee meeting.

Crockett, who represents a Congressional district in north Texas that includes portions of Dallas and Tarrant counties, made the remarks defending diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and criticizing the "multiple white (Republican) men" who "argued that they are being oppressed," the 43-year-old wrote in an X post on Thursday.

"I didn’t bring race into anything… THEY DID & always do & then they twist history & dilute the definition of words," Crockett's social media post reads.

Crockett's comments during the House Oversight Committee meeting came during the discussion of the "Dismantle DEI" bill proposed by Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas.

Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Louisiana, repeatedly referred to DEI policies as “oppression” during the meeting, prompting Crockett to respond.

"There has been no oppression for the white man in this country,” Crockett said during the meeting. “You tell me which white men were dragged out of their homes. You tell me which one of them got dragged all the way across an ocean and told that you are going to go and work.”

“It is white men on this side of the aisle telling us, people of color on this side of the aisle, that y'all are the ones being oppressed, that y’all are the ones being harmed. That is not the definition of oppression.”

What is the Dismantle DEI Act of 2024?

If the Dismantle DEI Act of 2024 became law, then it would effectively close all federal DEI offices and eliminate federal DEI programs.

The initiative brought on by Cloud seeks to "prevent racism" in the federal government, the bill's text reads.

Vice President-elect JD Vance previously sponsored an identical bill, but his and Cloud's have only been introduced and have not made it past the House or Senate.

The bill cleared its first hurdle Thursday when it passed the House Oversight Committee in a vote that fell on party lines, 23-17, Cloud's office announced.

“DEI programs masquerade as fairness while instead fostering division, inefficiency, and discrimination in our institutions," Cloud said in a statement released Thursday. "They waste taxpayer dollars and undermine the merit-based principles that have made America strong. The Dismantle DEI Act takes aim at this harmful ideology and will root it out of our government, ensuring our institutions focus on the mission of serving the American people efficiently and effectively."

Cloud said he looks forward to bringing the bill to the House floor.

Jasmine Crockett's previous back-and-forth with Republicans in US House

During a September hearing titled "A Legacy of Incompetence: Consequences of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Policy Failures," House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, seemingly called the Biden administration's Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program just another DEI initiative. The program was announced last year and aims to provide greater internet access to American households.

“The $42 billion program being led by Vice President Harris is being used to pursue a climate change agenda, DEI requirements, technology biases, price controls, preferences for government-run networks, and rules that will undoubtedly lead to wasteful overbuilding,” Brendan Carr, commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, said during the meeting.

Crockett responded to Carr's comments and said, "This election is the best example of why y’all are so afraid of diversity, equity and inclusion. Because then you can’t have a simple-minded, underqualified white man somehow end up ascending. Instead, you have to pay attention to the qualified Black woman on the other side."

Jasmine Crockett: 'I'm tired of it'

The congresswoman also spoke about DEI among Texas colleges and universities during an interview in June with Black Entertainment Television (BET).

"We have these really big schools that are (Predominantly White Institutions) and what is interesting to me is that they rely upon Black folk to play football and to make sure that their programs are amazing, and they're all good with that," Crockett said during BET's "What's At Stake 2024 Election Special."

"When it comes to making sure they're admitting diverse students and making sure that they have their proper place, or even making sure the administration is reflective of the student body, they don't want that. They want everything else to be lily-white except for those fields and I'm tired of it."