INTERVIEW: Rep. Jim Banks Talks War on Wokeism, J6 Tapes, Weaponization of the Federal Government
Plus Steve Yates interviews me on the history and trajectory of U.S-China policy
Jim Banks Leads House GOP Crusade Against Wokeism
In a follow-up to my recent column at Newsweek on anti-Wokeism as the glue that can hold the GOP together, I spoke with the key subject of that piece, Rep. Jim Banks, for RealClearPolitics.
With Republicans increasingly asserting themselves in battles over a coterie of acronyms that have captured the commanding heights of American society – ESG, DEI, and CRT – Rep. Banks has emerged as a leader in the GOP-controlled House of the fight against the “wokeism” these theories collectively represent.
A fourth-term congressman from Indiana, Banks has earned his anti-woke bona fides by engaging in high-profile clashes with military officials over their embrace of “anti-racist” literature and related initiatives, the Chamber of Commerce over issues ranging from woke capitalism to China, and Twitter over his “misgendering” of Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine.
During his tenure chairing the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House, Banks advocated in a memo to then-minority leader Kevin McCarthy that the party make fighting wokeism an essential part of the GOP’s effort to court working class voters.
This January, he announced his most ambitious effort yet: Banks would be building a new anti-woke caucus. The timing of the announcement came within days of a bigger one – that Banks would be running for an open U.S. Senate seat in 2024.
I spoke with Rep. Banks about his Anti-Woke Caucus ambitions, the pending release of the January 6 tapes, and the weaponization of the federal government in an interview conducted by telephone on February 23rd.
Read the transcript at RealClearPolitics.
My Appearance on Steve Yates’ “China Desk” Podcast
I was honored that Steve Yates, a Senior Fellow at the America First Policy Institute, where he chairs its China Initiative, asked me to come on as the second guest for his new podcast, the “China Desk.”
Steve and I had a wide-ranging conversation on the past, present, and future of U.S.-China policy — and what America’s national interest demands.
Check it out below: