McRae: The Destruction of Debanking

By Treasurer David McRae

Earlier this month, President Trump took a historic step, signing an Executive Order to end political discrimination by banks. I am grateful to President Trump for signing and stand with him in the fight to end these un-democratic debanking practices.

In recent years, vocal Americans (typically on the conservative side of the spectrum) have lost access to critical banking services for the sole reason that they espoused political beliefs which differed from that of woke Wall Street. The most notable among these were members of the President’s own family. In fact, the Trump family has been blacklisted by around a dozen financial institutions since 2021, the First Lady’s credit card was denied, and their son Barron was refused a bank account in his name. This is a blatant act of political discrimination.

The practice largely started under the Obama presidency. During that time, he allowed for a policy called “reputational risk,” which encouraged banks to refuse business to customers who were politically disfavored by some members of the public. The decisions that resulted were often driven by political motivations, rather than financial ones.

Obama doubled down on the policy with something called Operation Choke Point, which targeted the banking practices of firearms dealers, loan companies, and the energy industry – all of which conduct legal business.

The policy was further escalated under the Biden Administration with Operation Choke Point 2.0, a pressure campaign to debank cryptocurrency companies.

President Trump’s Executive Order ends the weaponization of the banking industry – for now, anyways. It is critical that we all remain vigilant.

Thankfully, there have been no reports of debanking by Mississippi banks (I like to think we know better here). My larger concern has always been that the State of Mississippi could become debanked if the woke Left was given unfettered authority on the matter.

Here, we speak out about our conservative values; we protect the right to life; we defend the right to bear arms. These principles are an assault on the Left’s agenda, and I don’t think it’s out of the question that Woke Wall Street comes after us, just like they came after President Trump.

Here’s the bottom line: If we allow political discrimination in banking to stand, we are inviting a future where only “approved” voices have access to the financial system. Simply put, that is not freedom.

President Trump’s Executive Order is a much needed course correction, but more protections must be instituted to ensure long-term liberty in the financial sphere. We all must stay engaged, demand accountability from Washington and Wall Street alike, and ensure that Mississippi (and America, for that matter) remains a place where financial freedom is not a privilege granted by the powerful, but a right guaranteed to all.

Mississippi Treasurer David McRae is the 55th Treasurer for the State of Mississippi. In this role, he helps manage the state’s cash flow, oversees College and Career Savings Mississippi, and has returned more than $140 million in unclaimed money to Mississippians. For more information, visit Treasury.MS.gov.