As I reported at the time, Twitter suspended the official account of Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), a sitting congressman and chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) on October 23. Nearly two weeks later, on November 5, he revealed that his account was reinstated. Banks had been tweeting from his personal account. His crime? Referring to Dr. Rachel Levine, the transgender Assistant Secretary at HHS and a four-star admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps as "a man."
NEW: Twitter has censored @RepJimBanks for calling HHS' Rachel Levine a man. He will be locked out of his account until he deletes the tweet, "The title of first female four-star officer gets taken by a man." pic.twitter.com/6wdDqJ36kH
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 23, 2021
In a video message that Banks tweeted out from his official account on Friday, the congressman acknowledged that he wasn't the first and won't be the last conservative censored by the platform.
But, he also more so focused on the opportunity to discuss plans once Republicans regain control of the House. "When we win back the majority next year, I am going to lead the fight to hold Big Tech accountable," he said, "for the censorship of conservative voices." He also invited viewers to "stay tuned."
I’m back. pic.twitter.com/xk9GhQpQaR
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) November 5, 2021
The RSC frequently releases written policy solutions for the American people to see and in contrast to current Democratic plans.
"Twitter was blocking my communications with Hoosiers right before Congress votes on the largest expansion of the federal government since the Great Society. Twitter demanded I delete the tweet if I wanted to participate in a momentous political debate, which is my job, so I did, but I stand by every word in my factual statement," he said in a separate statement.
"Twitter provides a crucial platform for elected officials to communicate with voters, which is part of what makes Twitter’s biased and arbitrary censorship so dangerous. Fighting the left’s censorship will remain a priority of mine for as long as I’m in Congress. I’ll say it again: House Republicans must rein in Big Tech," he went on to add.
Banks' reinstatement also comes as he is co-sponsoring the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act with Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), which "would ensure state attorneys general are able to remain in the court they select rather than having their cases moved to a court the defendant prefers," according to a press release from Rep. Buck's office. The bill is also co-sponsored by Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) Democratic Reps. David Cicilline (RI) and Joe Neguse (CO).
???? I'm cosponsoring @RepKenBuck's bill to crack down on Big Tech. @twitter
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) November 5, 2021
Big Tech is drunk on power & House Republicans must rein them in.@SpeakerPelosi, quit delaying and bring this bill to the floor!
Republicans are already poised to take control of at least the House in next year's midterms elections, as Democrats only have a majority by a single digit amount of seats. As a matter of historical trend, the president's party tends to lose seats for his first midterm election that he's in office. President Joe Biden's approval ratings are also devastating and bring about quite the amount of warning signs.