(Bloomberg). Twitter Inc. suspended Representative Jim Banks’ official account for calling Dr. Rachel Levine, the Assistant Health and Human Services Secretary, a man.
Banks, a Republican from Indiana and a top conservative in the House of Representatives, violated Twitter’s terms of service, which bars users from harassing people based on their gender identity. In a tweet, he said the comments in reference to Levine, a transgender female, who would be sworn into the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps as a four star admiral. Levine is the first woman to achieve this rank.
“The title of first female four-star officer gets taken by a man,” Banks said in the tweet, which Twitter removed on Saturday for violating its rules.
Twitter bans attacks on users based upon race, ethnicity and gender identity. According to its rules, misgendering transgender people is forbidden.
Banks was adamant on his personal account. Banks tweeted his frustration that his official account was suspended for posting a fact, without naming it. He added, “I won’t back down.”
Banks serves as the chairman of the Republican Study Committee. It is an organization of conservative House Republicans which helps to craft party policies. Previous chairmen, whose ranks come from sitting members, include former Vice President Mike Pence, when he represented Indiana’s 6th District in Congress, and Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the second-ranking Republican.
