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Jim Banks
American politician (born 1979) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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James Edward Banks (born July 16, 1979) is an American politician and naval officer serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from Indiana. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for Indiana's 3rd congressional district from 2017 to 2025 and an Indiana state senator from 2010 to 2016.
A graduate of Indiana University Bloomington, Banks served on the Whitley County Council before being elected to the State Senate in 2010. During his tenure, he joined the United States Navy and was deployed to Afghanistan. In 2016, Banks was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected in 2018, 2020, and 2022. In 2021, he voted to object to the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. After incumbent U.S. Senator Mike Braun declined to run for reelection, Banks announced he would run in the 2024 election to replace him.[1] After winning the Republican nomination unopposed, he defeated Democratic nominee Valerie McCray in the general election.[2]
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Early life and career
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Banks was born on July 16, 1979, in Columbia City, Indiana.[3] He graduated in 2004 from Indiana University Bloomington with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and later received an MBA from Grace College & Seminary.[4] Banks worked in the real estate and construction industry in Fort Wayne, Indiana, before serving in elected office. He serves in the United States Navy Reserve as a Supply Corps officer. From 2014 to 2015, he took a leave of absence from the Indiana State Senate to serve in Afghanistan.[5]
From 2008 to 2010, Banks represented the at-large district on the Whitley County Council.[6] He won the primary after defeating incumbent county councilman Scott Darley.[7] Paula Reimers succeeded him on the County Council.[8] Banks chaired the Whitley County Republican Party from 2007 to 2011.[9] Matt Boyd succeeded him as chair.[10] With assistance from the American Legislative Exchange Council, Banks has supported right-to-work legislation in Indiana.[11] He addressed the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference in 2014 after he was selected as one of their Top 10 Conservatives Under 40.[12]
In 2010, Banks was elected to represent the 17th district in the State Senate. Upon military deployment to Afghanistan, he took a leave of absence from the State Senate in September 2014.[13] Invoking an Indiana state law that allows state and local officeholders to take leaves of absence during active duty military service, Banks was replaced by his wife, Amanda Banks, during the 2015 legislative session.[14][15] He returned to Indiana from overseas duty on April 14, 2015,[16] and resumed his duties as state senator on May 8.[17]
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U.S. House of Representatives
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Elections
2016
On May 12, 2015, Banks announced his candidacy for Congress. The incumbent, Marlin Stutzman, announced he would not run for reelection and would instead run for the Republican nomination to succeed retiring Indiana senator Dan Coats.[18] The Club for Growth endorsed Banks.[19]
Banks defeated five opponents in the primary with 34% of the vote. Spending in the campaign exceeded $2 million as Banks raised $850,000 before the primary and the candidate who finished second, businessman Kip Tom, raised $950,000, including $150,000 he loaned from his personal funds.[20]
2018
Banks was reelected; he was unopposed in the Republican primary and defeated Democratic nominee Courtney Tritch in the general election[21] with 64.7% of the vote.
2020
Banks was elected to a third term, defeating physician Chris Magiera[22] in the Republican primary[23] and Democratic nominee Chip Coldiron in the general election[24] with 67.8% of the vote.[25]
Tenure
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Banks was sworn in on January 3, 2017. He is a member of the Republican Study Committee.
In December 2017, Banks joined representatives Ron DeSantis, Scott Perry, and Robert Pittenger in co-signing a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson requesting that Tillerson release a classified counterterrorism agreement with Qatar.[26]
In January 2020, Banks faced backlash after saying that remarks by Representative Ilhan Omar about her experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder were "offensive to our nation's veterans". As a child, Omar fled civil war in Somalia and spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp.[27]
After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump refused to concede while making claims of fraud, Banks was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case.[28][29][30] Banks later objected to the certification of the election results.[31]
After the January 6, 2021, United States Capitol attack, Banks expressed support for a bipartisan commission to investigate the riot. He later changed his mind.[32] On July 21, 2021, House speaker Nancy Pelosi vetoed Kevin McCarthy's assigning of Banks and Jim Jordan to the January 6 Select Committee on the grounds that both had amplified Trump's false claims of fraud.[33] Banks subsequently claimed that Pelosi was at fault for the January 6 insurrection and was using the commission to cover up her role.[34]
In February 2021, Banks and a dozen other Republican House members skipped votes and enlisted others to vote for them, citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He and the other members were actually attending the Conservative Political Action Conference, which was held at the same time as their absences.[35] In response, the Campaign for Accountability, an ethics watchdog group, filed a complaint with the House Committee on Ethics and requested an investigation into Banks and the other lawmakers.[36]
In October 2021, Representative Liz Cheney, vice chair of the January 6 Select Committee, revealed that Banks had been sending letters to federal agencies, claiming to be the committee's ranking member even though he had been rejected from it.[37] In one September 2021 letter, Banks requested that the Department of the Interior give him information it had sent the committee. He also wrote, "Pelosi refused to allow me to fulfill my duties as Ranking Member" and signed the letter as "Ranking Member", which he was not.[38][39]
Also in October 2021, Business Insider reported that Banks had violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, a federal transparency and conflict-of-interest law, by failing to properly disclose sales of stock in Kroger, Roblox, and Starbucks worth up to $45,000.[40]
Also in October 2021, when Rachel Levine, who is transgender, became an admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Banks wrote in his official Twitter account: "The title of first female four-star officer gets taken by a man." Twitter, which at the time prohibited "targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals", suspended his official account in response.[41]
Shortly after Republicans retook control of the House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections, Banks ran for the position of Majority Whip, the third highest ranking position in the Republican caucus. He narrowly lost to Tom Emmer, 115-106.[42][43]
In May 2023, Banks co-sponsored a resolution by Marjorie Taylor Greene to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.[44]
Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress:[45]
Caucus memberships
- Congressional Western Caucus[46]
- Congressional Pakistan Caucus[47]
- Republican Study Committee[48]
- Congressional Taiwan Caucus[49]
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Political positions
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Banks is politically conservative.
Student debt forgiveness
After the Biden administration announced a plan to forgive $10,000 in federal student debt and other provisions, Banks tweeted his opposition, writing, "Student loan forgiveness undermines one of our military's greatest recruitment tools at a time of dangerously low enlistments."[50][51]
Health care
Banks supported repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).[52] He voted for the American Health Care Act of 2017.[53] He opposes single-payer healthcare, which he claims would cost taxpayers $32 trillion.[54]
Banks unequivocally supports the Department of Government Efficiency's firings at the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In April 2025, he gained attention for his remarks to Mack Schroeder, a former HHS employee who confronted him after losing his job during the layoffs. Schroeder asked Banks: "There are many people who are not getting social service programs, especially people with disabilities. Are you going to do anything to stop what's happening?"[55] Banks told Schroeder that he "probably deserved it", called him a "clown" and closed the elevator doors.[55] The video of the incident went viral.[55]
Immigration
Banks criticized President Biden's immigration policy and called on him to reinstate Trump-era policies.
Economy
In December 2017, Banks voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[56] Upon the bill's passage, Banks said it was "a good day for the future of the American dream".[57]
In 2020, Banks voted against the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.[58] In 2021, he voted against COVID-19 economic stimulus a second time.[59][60]
Environment
In October 2016, Banks said, "I believe that climate change in this country is largely leftist propaganda to change the way Americans live and create more government obstruction and intrusion in our lives."[61][62]
Abortion
Banks opposes abortion. He long opposed Roe v. Wade, and praised Dobbs, the 2022 decision that overturned it.[63][64][65] The National Right to Life Committee, an organization dedicated to opposing abortion, gave him a 100% lifetime rating.[66] In 2023, Banks voted for the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.[66] He opposes federal funding of abortions, as well as Planned Parenthood.[52]
LGBT rights
Banks opposes same-sex marriage.[67][68] In 2022, he voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed the Defense of Marriage Act and required the federal government, the states, and all territories to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages in the United States.[69]
Banks has called banning transgender people from serving in the military an "emotional issue" due to Americans' polarized views on gender and the government's role in those issues.[70] He opposes the military paying for sex reassignment surgery, saying, "I don't think taxpayers should be on the hook for that."[54]
Big Tech
In 2022, Banks was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[71][72]
In June 2025, Banks spoke at the World.minds meeting in Washington D.C. about China, AI, and the transatlantic relationship.[73]
Foreign policy
On January 27, 2023, Banks reintroduced the MAHSA Act (H.R. 589), which sanctions Iran's leaders for terrorism activities and human rights violations after the nationwide uprising from the Mahsa Amini protests.
Banks voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[74][75] In July 2025, he voted against two motions made by Senator Bernie Sanders to block arms sales to Israel.[76][77][78]
Ukraine
In 2023, Banks voted for a moratorium on aid to Ukraine.[79][80]
In 2023, Banks was among 98 Republicans to vote for a ban on cluster munitions to Ukraine.[81][82]
Industry and workers
Banks has been a vocal critic of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which seeks to expand labor protections and amend existing labor laws. He has said he is concerned that the bill would undermine "right-to-work" laws, compel workers to pay union dues regardless of membership, and broaden the definition of employees to include independent contractors. He has also argued that the legislation could allow undocumented workers to join unions, which he believes would diminish U.S. citizens' voting power in union matters. Banks proposed an amendment to prevent unions from recruiting undocumented workers, but it did not pass the House.[83]
In December 2024, Banks announced his intention to steer Republican policy toward a more pro-worker and pro-American-industry stance, as outlined in his memo "Working Families First". In the memo, he calls for a shift in party focus away from Wall Street and toward supporting the working and middle classes. His suggested policy changes include expanding access to apprenticeships and technical training and increasing opportunities through Pell Grants to prepare people for the workforce.[84][85]
Banks emphasizes the need for Republicans not to take America's working population for granted. He advocates a detailed strategy to incentivize domestic investment and enhance the U.S. industrial base, particularly in defense sectors.[85]
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U.S. Senate
2024 United States Senate election
On January 17, 2023, Banks announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in 2024 in a tweet.[1] He was endorsed by Donald Trump and won the general election.[86]
Committee assignments
As listed on the Senate website:[87]
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Electoral history
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References
External links
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