Senator Banks Backs Trump Nominees Hegseth, Patel

Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) signaled during an interview over the weekend that he supports confirming two of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees in the coming weeks.

Banks signaled his support for Kash Patel being confirmed as FBI Director and Pete Hegseth being confirmed as Secretary of Defense during a Sunday interview with Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The remarks from Banks came in response to an ISIS terrorist murdering at least 14 people during a terrorist attack on New Year’s Day in New Orlean’s French Quarter.

“In the wake of the New Orleans attack, you’re calling for the Senate to quickly confirm President Trump’s national security nominees,” Tapper said to Banks. “I want to play some sound from one of those nominees, Kash Patel, nominated to be director of the FBI. This is what he said about the agency that’s now charged with leading this terrorist investigation.”

“We have seen the leadership of the FBI be more focused on the political causes of the Left, going after parents at school board meetings, instead of going after and investigating ISIS members in America,” Banks said. I mean, Jabbar in New Orleans had ISIS content on his social media account. We should have been more aware of that and planned to stop that attack from happening and going after him. And, instead, the FBI has become way too bureaucratic, way too political.”

“And Kash Patel is going to be a big part of cleaning it up,” he continued. “But never forget that Donald Trump is going to be the president. He’s going to be in charge. He’s going to instruct Kash Patel. And I expect Kash Patel will help clean up the mess.”

WATCH:

.@SenatorBanks: “The FBI has become way too bureaucratic, way too political — and @Kash_Patel is going to be a big part of cleaning it up.” pic.twitter.com/4ykSuNAYjK

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 5, 2025

Banks added that he was also looking forward to Hegseth’s confirmation hearing.

“I fully support Pete Hegseth,” he said. “He is eminently more qualified than Secretary Austin, who’s in the job, who disappeared on the job, who instructed the disastrous, deadly withdrawal of Afghanistan, and created a woke political mess at the Pentagon that Pete Hegseth is going to clean up.”

“Pete is a decorated combat veteran, served in both Iraq and Afghanistan,” he continued. “He knows what’s at stake. I fully support him. He’s going to be great at the job.”

WATCH:

Senator Banks: I fully support @PeteHegseth. He is eminently more qualified than Secretary Austin… who disappeared on the job, who instructed the disastrous, deadly withdrawal of Afghanistan, and created a woke political mess at the Pentagon that Pete is going to clean up. pic.twitter.com/fJH3kPBih6

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 5, 2025