Jasmine Crockett Eviscerates Congress, Says She’s Met More Crooks There Than as a Defense Attorney

Jasmine Crockett isn't leaving Congress quietly. Months before the Texas Democrat's House term ends, she took her fight with Republicans from Capitol Hill to late-night television, telling Americans frustrated with their lives to pay attention to who actually holds power in Washington.

Appearing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" with guest host Anthony Anderson, Crockett blamed Republican control for much of the frustration she sees across the country. As reported by The Daily Beast, the congresswoman also unloaded on the culture inside Congress, mixing serious political criticism with biting jokes about some of the people serving there.

“Many people right now are hurting in the country, and my answer to everyone is: look at who is in control,” Crockett told Anderson. “On the federal level, it's Republicans across the board. Democrats control absolutely nothing. In a state like Texas, it's Republicans across the board.”

Away from the House floor, Crockett described a different side of her relationship with Republican colleagues. She said some have invited her into their back rooms and even asked whether she wanted to manufacture a confrontation that could become material for Fox News, something she wanted no part of.

Then Anderson turned the conversation toward the Senate and 84-year-old Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell. Crockett answered with one of her sharpest jokes of the night, saying her theory was that “maybe even half of the Senate is already dead anyway” before emphasizing just how old she considers many of those serving in the chamber.

Asked whether she had encountered more crooks during her career as a public defender or while serving in Congress, Crockett didn't hesitate. “I've dealt with murderers, child rapists, and clearly, we got a lot of them in Congress,” she said, after answering that she had encountered more crooks on Capitol Hill.

She also took aim at what she described as political theater among Republicans who publicly stand with President Donald Trump. Crockett claimed some GOP lawmakers don't actually like Trump but are unwilling to say so because they fear the political consequences of breaking with him.

“Republicans are very performative, specifically in this moment,” Crockett said. “A lot of them don't like Donald Trump, but they're too afraid to say so.”

March brought Crockett a political setback of her own when she lost the Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Texas to state Rep. James Talarico. She will leave the House when her current term expires in January 2027, but the defeat has hardly muted her political voice.

Congress will be up for grabs in less than three months, and Crockett used the interview to argue that changing its partisan balance could produce tangible consequences. She told viewers that electing Democrats could lead to subpoenas and renewed inquiries, including efforts to obtain information related to the Epstein files.

Crockett framed November as a chance for Americans unhappy with their circumstances to choose different leadership. “The American people are tired, and they're just looking for someone that's gonna focus on them,” she told Anderson.

Nothing about the appearance sounded like a politician preparing to fade quietly from view. Crockett went after Republican control, described what she sees as manufactured partisan fights, ridiculed the Senate's age and compared people in Congress with some of the criminals she encountered as a public defender, all while carrying her argument directly to voters.