Rep. Jim Banks is appealing his Twitter suspension, arguing that his controversial tweet calling the country’s first transgender four-star officer a “man” should fuel an “important debate about sex and human nature,” he told The Post.
The Indiana Republican’s account has been paused since Oct. 24 over his post about United States Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, “The title of first female four-star officer gets taken by a man.”
Banks — who serves as chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in Congress — was told the tweet, which has since been deleted, violated the platform’s rules against “hateful conduct.”
While critics have accused him of invoking transphobic rhetoric, Banks argues it should spark a larger cultural conversation about transgender issues like participation and recognition in gender-specific sporting events.
“I’m appealing because what I tweeted was an obvious fact and part of a larger, important debate about sex and human nature,” Banks told The Post.
“What kind of message does it send to my daughters when the label ‘first female’ is awarded to someone who spent most of their lives as a male? Twitter exists to host debate — not shut it down. Their ban is another reason why Republicans need to hold Big Tech accountable.”
Banks’ allies argued that Twitter is infringing on his First Amendment rights and invoking a culture war with its suspension.
“Anything that a member of Congress can say on the House floor should be allowed to be posted on Twitter,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said in a statement.
Banks’ suspension was recently discussed in a call between his senior staffers and Twitter officials. But a source familiar with the chat told The Post they don’t believe the platform provided a clear policy on how it determines what warrants a temporary block.
“Twitter said they wanted to host a conversation about the transgender debate and admitted that they struggled with where to draw the line,” the source said.
While Banks’ official account remains suspended, he still maintains access to his personal account.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.