Jim Banks, U.S. Senator, Indiana

Senator Jim Banks is a native Hoosier, born and raised in Columbia City. He is the son of a factory worker and a nursing home cook and was the first in his family to go to college. Banks earned an undergraduate degree from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from Grace College.

Before being elected to the United States Senate in 2024, Banks served in the United States House of Representatives and in the Indiana State Senate.

While serving in the Indiana State Senate from 2010 to 2016, he chaired the Senate Veteran Affairs and the Military Committee. In 2014 and 2015, Senator Banks took a leave of absence from the Indiana State Senate to deploy to Afghanistan during Operations Enduring Freedom and Freedom’s Sentinel.

Banks was elected to the U.S. House in 2016 where he served four terms representing Indiana’s third Congressional district. In the 117th Congress, Congressman Banks served as Chairman of the Republican Study Committee—the largest conservative caucus in the House. During his time in the House, Banks served on the House Armed Services Committee, the Committee on Education and the Workforce, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party.

On the House Armed Services Committee, Banks served as Chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee during the 118th Congress and ranking member of the Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems subcommittee in the 117th Congress.

Senator Banks is a past president of the Columbia City Rotary Club, former chairman of the Whitley County Republican Party, and has served on the Whitley County Council and Northeast Indiana Workforce Development Board.

Throughout Senator Banks’ years in public service, he has been recognized for his leadership and commitment to conservative values.

Senator Banks and his wife Amanda are the parents to three daughters, Lillian, Elizabeth, and Joann.