Crockett Confronts GOP Witnesses as House Oversight Hearing Erupts Over Broadband, DEI, and Project 2025

The House Oversight Committee descended into chaos this week as Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett delivered another blistering performance—one that left GOP witnesses visibly rattled and right-wing lawmakers scrambling for control.

“We’re not going to pretend in here. We’re going to work with facts, not fiction,” Crockett said as she began dismantling misleading claims about Vice President Harris’s $42 billion rural broadband initiative.

Republicans had framed the hearing as an examination of “failed policies,” but Crockett quickly exposed contradictions in the testimony. When a witness suggested no money had been deployed under the rural broadband program, Crockett entered a USDA report into the record showing new infrastructure buildouts in Italy, Texas, from March 2024.

“So you’re not saying no dollars have been spent under the Infrastructure Act, correct?” she pressed.
The witness dodged repeatedly, prompting Crockett to reclaim her time—multiple times—after GOP members attempted to interrupt.

Crockett Rejects DEI Scapegoating

One of the witnesses blamed the slow broadband rollout on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” policies—a favorite talking point in conservative circles and a centerpiece of Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint for a future Trump administration.

Crockett countered with reporting from The Texas Tribune, which documented a real, longstanding problem: broadband companies historically underestimated costs, went into default, and failed to deliver service.

“It doesn’t say anything about diversity,” Crockett noted. “What it does say is companies wildly miscalculated their budgets.”

Then she delivered the line that immediately went viral:

“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, under-qualified white man somehow end up ascending. Instead, you’ve got to pay attention to the qualified Black woman on the other side.”

She ended her remarks with: “And with that, I yield.”

Humiliation Continues for FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr

The hearing only got more tense from there. Members questioned witnesses about the unprecedented wave of former Trump officials refusing to endorse him for 2025. When a witness tried to blame these defections on Trump firing them, one Democrat reminded him:

“The mob came in chanting ‘Hang Mike Pence!’ Pence wasn’t running against him. He ran with him.”

Project 2025 Takes Center Stage

Representative Nancy Mace quickly moved to reestablish order before Democrats continued. But the next moments proved pivotal.

Democratic Representative Melanie Stansbury proceeded to walk through each witness’s affiliations with Project 2025:

Brendan Carr: Trump-appointed FCC Commissioner and author of Project 2025’s FCC chapter

Mark Krikorian: Center for Immigration Studies, a group designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center

Dr. Hobbs: Member of the Independent Women’s Forum, which has contributors tied to Project 2025

Mandy Gunasekara: Former EPA chief of staff under Trump and Project 2025 contributor

With GOP witnesses cornered, Stansbury submitted the entire Project 2025 plan into the official record.

Republicans offered no objection.

“We tried to enter it into the record in the Natural Resources Committee,” Stansbury said. “Three GOP members objected. They were clearly trying to distance themselves from it.”

Oversight Committee Used as a Trump Campaign Tool, Democrats Say

Stansbury then publicly called out the committee’s politicization.

“Welcome to the American people—to your campaign stop on the Donald Trump campaign,” she said. “Here we are, with authors of Project 2025, future Trump officials, and a committee being used as a political platform 47 days before an election.”

She cited the failed CR vote the night before, pushed by Trump and rejected by Republicans at his instruction, as evidence of continuing dysfunction.

“For nearly two years, this committee has been used as a campaign resource,” Stansbury said. “They tried to impeach Joe Biden. They tried to impugn his family. Now they’re attacking Kamala Harris and platforming extreme policies.”

A Committee in Crisis

Stansbury closed with a stark warning:

The House Oversight Committee—once one of Congress’s most powerful and respected panels—has never been more partisan or more detached from its mission to ensure accountability and efficient government.

“It’s becoming increasingly obvious,” she said, “that these people don’t want these federal agencies to exist at all.”