ICYMI: Sen. Banks Joins Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street on Fox BusinessMonday, August 3, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This weekend, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) joined Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street on Fox Business Network to discuss the conflict in Iran, Middle East diplomacy, AI policy, and Senate priorities. Click the image above for the full discussion. Key Excerpts on Iran: Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.): “Nobody should be surprised that China is aligned with Iran; they have supported them militarily, economically, they are the number one customer of oil coming out of Iran. I am not surprised at all by these reports what is surprising is that they would openly defy President Trump at time when Chairman Xi is trying to negotiate a deal with President Trump moving forward that he would assist our number one enemy right now with the War in Iran that China would come to bat with military weapons.” “This is why President Trump was so right and wise this week to slow down the Russia sanctions bill that Sen. Lindsey Graham fought so hard for before he died. But President Trump said to add sanctions on Iran and add secondary sanctions on those who assist Iran into the sanction bill, but President Trump is exactly right. This is something we have to do to give President Trump more power and authority to crack down on China for their malign influence and assistance to Iranian Military Operations against the United States of America.” Key Excerpts on AI: “One way to think about this, Maria, is in Jurassic Park the Raptors in the cage get out of the cage, and then the disaster happens after that…One thing that I’ve worked on in the Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act, the defense bill, is that Sen. Gillibrand, a Democrat from New York, and I  have bipartisan language that that would require these AI companies that have contracts and work with the Department of War to report insider threats. It is critical, and these two incidents this week show exactly why…These AI companies have a duty for national security purposes to allow for more government oversight and to report those insider threats.” Key Excerpts on Senate Priorities: “We shouldn’t take a break until we get our job done. I’m a new Senator; I’m frustrated, like the rest of the country, seeing the inaction of Congress on so many important issues. President Trump is right about that when it comes to the SAVE America Act, which is fundamental and critical to protecting our elections, our democracy, and our American way of life. We should absolutely pass it.” “It also includes funding for our troops and our military and to replenish our munitions stockpiles so that President Trump can keep up the pressure on Iran and bring them back to the table to prevent them from ever having a nuclear weapon. And to support our men and women in uniform, which is my top priority.” “Chuck Schumer and the Democrats would love nothing more than to shut the government down right before we go into October, right before the midterm elections and that would be a disaster for our country, we can’t let them get away with it. Let’s pass the reconciliation bill, the SAVE America Act, support our military, and then pass the CR and avoid a government shutdown before we get to election day.” ###