Spencer Pratt seizes on homelessness remarks by Karen Bass, blasts Democrat for failures

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt seized on comments from Mayor Karen Bass about resistance within the homelessness system, arguing the remarks lend credence to his belief that some individuals and organizations have benefited from a crisis that continues to plague the city.

Speaking on "Saturday in America," Pratt responded to previous comments from Bass claiming that internal forces in government have resisted homelessness reform.

"The NGOs that are stealing billions of our tax money to increase drug addicts naked on our sidewalks. She's complicit," Pratt said of Bass. "So I believe maybe that's the only honest thing she's ever said in the fact that, yes, they're all criminals."

The controversy stems from a CNN interview with Bass at the St. Vincent Behavioral Health Campus, a former hospital slated to become a mental health and housing facility. Pressed on why she has failed to meet her promise to end homelessness by 2026, Bass blamed internal resistance.

Karen Bass Grilled Over Broken Homelessness Promise, Blames Bureaucracy For Slowed Progress

"The city and the county never made that commitment before, and I found something that surprised me. I found a lot of people who work internally in the system who were very resistant to ending street homelessness," Bass said.

She also blamed "bureaucratic barriers" and claimed the city has historically avoided addressing homelessness altogether.

Pratt seized on the comment, accusing the current administration in Los Angeles and its partners of being resistant to reform because they are "profiting off of these poor souls."