Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a native of the St. Louis region, is not blaming people who work for FEMA for the slow response to the May 16 tornado that swept through the St. Louis area.
She called FEMA workers “special people,” in an Instagram post this week, adding that FEMA isn’t showing up “not because people aren’t willing to show up,” but because the Trump Administration “fails to recognize what it is that they need to prioritize, which is the people.”
Crockett also announced that she will attempt to be the Democratic leader of the House Oversight Committee, following the death of Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly died on May 21, after a battle with esophageal cancer.
The House Democratic Caucus would have back her, and Crockett says she understands the task with Republicans controlling the House and Senate.
“I know that we’re behind — the first thing that you have to do is accept it. I get it. I get it,” Crockett said on the Black Virginia News podcast from a Congressional Black Caucus session at the U.S. Capitol. The discussion centered around the party’s messaging strategy and general failure to break through.
What has also been made clear at town halls is that constituents want their elected representatives to act with urgency in a fight with a presidential administration that has mandated unprecedented job cuts, caused economic uncertainty, and cuts to the federal workforce.
“Our country is in an existential crisis driven by an out-of-control Executive with a flagrant disregard for our Constitution, our way of governance, and our very way of life as citizens of a democratic republic. The Administration has refused to respect congressional authority, abide by lawful judicial orders, or respond to public outrage,” Crockett wrote in wrote in her letter to colleagues announcing her run to lead Oversight.
“The magnitude of these unprecedented times warrants resistance and tactics never before seen. We must pull back the curtain on the unmitigated chaos under Trump 2.0 and translate our findings to the American people in a way they can digest.”
Though President Trump’s approval numbers are nothing for The White House to celebrate — the Democrats are polling at a historic low with an NBC News poll revealing that the party has only a 27% positive view among registered voters.
The number was the lowest since 1990 since the poll was first conducted. Crockett was sworn in during January 2023. However, in her time in the office, she applied the party’s messaging in a way that fits contemporary technology.
Many political observers believe she represents the future as the party is criticized for being too quiet during a time of unprecedented action by the chief executive in The White House.
The congresswoman also mentioned her fundraising prowess among the Democratic Party, noting that she attended more than 100 events for Democrats during the 2024 election cycle and raised more than $4 million for the Democratic Campaign Congressional Committee.
“I was the 7th highest fundraising House Democrat for the first quarter of this year,” she wrote. “I am not only ready to meet the moment, but I am prepared to bring home wins for our Caucus, this great country, and the world.”
Crockett ran and won the long-held seat of Congressional Black Caucus veteran Eddie Bernice Johnson to represent Texas’s 30th congressional district. Johnson passed away in December 2023. The 44-year-old lawmaker and civil rights attorney served in the Texas legislature before coming to Congress.