Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., plans to form the "first-ever Anti-Woke Caucus" within the congressional ranks, a group that believes "wokeness" has become the "greatest domestic threat to America today."
During his Friday announcement, Banks called attention to his recent op-ed piece in The American Mind, in which he detailed what "Congress must do in the fight against wokeism."
The Indiana Republican wrote that Congress has moved into "uncharted territory" in recent years, being pulled into issues that go beyond the economy, military, or health care.
"The most toxic part of this tyranny is its doctrine — wokeness," wrote Banks. "Everyone has by now heard this word but it means something very specific. It means that all the so-called oppressor groups must be punished for their past and present alleged sins."
That punishment, Banks wrote, can include "inducing self-hatred through indoctrination, stripping away their rights by not enforcing the laws on their behalf, public humiliation, hatred, expropriation, and ultimately violence."
Banks took aim at the Biden administration for actively imposing these "utterly un-American" beliefs upon citizens and children, with the hope of stoking more division in schools, agencies, and businesses.
"The new House Republican majority can and will fight institutionalized wokeness. The path forward is clear so long as we act confidently, as our voters demand," wrote Banks, listing the primary objectives of the GOP-controlled House.
"First, House Republicans should pass legislation to rescind Executive Order 13985, Biden’s equity Executive Order that directed every single federal agency to produce an 'Equity Action Plan,'" wrote Banks.
"I know there are many more anti-woke legislatures [sic] in the Republican Congress, and that we will find strength in numbers. An anti-woke caucus with members on the Appropriations, Energy and Commerce, and Judiciary committees will work together to offer amendments that defund and expose wokeness at the NIH [National Institues of Health], the Justice Department, and every other federal agency," wrote Banks.
"No bill that spends taxpayer dollars on leftist activities should pass out of committee without a recorded vote on an amendment to defund wokeness," he wrote.
Now that Republicans control the purse strings of Congress, Banks said it should be easier to "stop funding wokeness" in American politics.
As part of that, Republican investigators should exercise their oversight power to "question woke federal officials and woke companies," added Banks.
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