The Mayor of Los Angeles faced a challenging question recently when asked about her unfulfilled campaign pledge to eliminate street homelessness by 2026, a query that elicited a nervous laugh.
Upon her successful election in 2022, Karen Bass made a firm commitment to tackle street homelessness, declaring it a top priority during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper the following year.
As she embarks on another campaign, Bass must now confront the fact that she has not achieved this ambitious goal, a shortcoming her rivals are eager to highlight.
During a televised interview on Tuesday, CNN’s Elex Michaelson pressed Bass on this issue.
“Back in 2023, you told Jake Tapper that your aim was to end street homelessness in Los Angeles by 2026. We’re now in 2026…” Michaelson began.
Bass interjected with a seemingly uneasy laugh, acknowledging, “And we haven’t ended it yet.”
Michaelson acknowledged that street homelessness was still a harsh reality for Angelenos and confronted the mayor with a tough question: ‘How are you so off?’
Bass explained that she had made that promise at the beginning of her term and remained committed to the goal.
LA mayor Karen Bass was confronted with an uncomfortable question during a CNN interview
CNN anchor Elex Michaelson asked Bass why she was unable to decrease street homelessness by 100 percent in her first term
Bass is campaigning for re-election after four years under a microscope
‘I didn’t anticipate some of the bureaucratic barriers that I would experience, but I am prepared to take those on now.’
The mayor cited her decision to fast-track 42,000 affordable housing units as evidence of her commitment to ending street homelessness.
Bass added that street homelessness has decreased for the first time during her term, impacting the quality of life for everyone in the city.
Michaelson pointed out that even though street homelessness has declined under Mayor Bass, the decrease has been only 17 percent, rather than the 100 percent she initially vowed.
When asked why Angelenos should trust her after initially failing to achieve her goal, Bass responded: ‘Because let me just tell you for the first time – we’ve had a decrease at all.
‘There was not a decrease before at all because there was no commitment to get rid of street encampments, and we had encampments all over the city.
‘So I would ask for people’s trust in the sense that we have absolutely made progress. We know what we need to do now to end street homelessness.’
The exchange was a part of a wide-ranging interview at the St Vincent Behavioral Health Campus, a location Bass chose for the sit-down.
The campus is intended to assist those struggling with mental health challenges, substance abuse, and chronic housing insecurity.
Join the discussion
Has Karen Bass made meaningful progress on homelessness in Los Angeles – or are voters right to feel let down by the lack of change?
The homeless crisis is a critical issue in the Los Angeles mayoral race. Pictured above is an encampment in Los Angeles on June 25, 2025
Bass’s record, including her policies on homelessness, has been criticized by her opponents, including Spencer Pratt, left, and Nithya Raman
The facility opens this year and provides 800 beds to people in need. Bass has touted the project as a success of her administration and another step toward achieving her goal of ending street homelessness.
However, her critics and opponents have accused her of failing to solve the crisis. During a mayoral debate earlier this month, Bass’s opponents, Spencer Pratt and councilmember Nithya Raman, criticized the massive funding for her Inside Safe program.
Raman argued that Inside Safe was neither ‘fiscally sustainable’ nor a permanent fix, while Pratt took a hardline approach to getting people off the streets by increasing law enforcement.
Homelessness is at the crux of the Los Angeles mayoral election. It is one of the defining issues for Angelenos, with over 67,000 people in the city displaced at the end of last year, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Authority.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the mayor’s campaign team for comment.
