U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY) has announced the introduction of legislation to make permanent an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump that aims to ensure free and fair access to banking for all Americans, regardless of political beliefs. The executive order, signed on Thursday, targets what is described as politicized debanking—where financial institutions deny or restrict services based on constitutionally protected viewpoints.
The proposed legislation echoes previous bills introduced by Barr, including the Fair Access to Banking Act and the FIRM Act, which seek to prevent regulators from using “reputational risk” as a reason to pressure banks into denying service to certain industries.
“From Operation Chokepoint under the Obama-Biden administration to recent examples of religious groups, firearms manufacturers, and even energy companies being debanked, the American people have had enough of woke discrimination from Wall Street and weaponized regulators,” said Congressman Barr. “President Trump’s bold executive action is a major step forward—and now we’re going to make sure it becomes law.”
Majority Leader Steve Scalise commented on the executive order’s impact: “President Trump’s Executive Order holds banks accountable for discriminating against conservatives and crypto through fines and other consequences for lenders that deny service to conservatives or customers due to their political affiliations or protected beliefs. This political discrimination – such as we saw with the Obama Administration’s ‘Operation Chokepoint’ – is unlawful, dishonest, and decreases trust in our banking institutions. The Executive Order also improves the supervisory process by stopping unelected regulators from using ‘reputational risk’ as a component of financial supervision and as a tool to target those who don’t align with their political agenda. Banks should be assessing legitimate financial risk – not the political views of hardworking and lawful individuals or businesses. I’m grateful to Congressman Andy Barr for leading the effort to codify the President’s Executive Order in the House and fighting to ensure every American gets a fair shake at the bank regardless of their political views.”
John Commerford, Executive Director of NRA-ILA, added: “The NRA applauds President Trump for his efforts to rein in both financial regulators and institutions who have refused services to constitutionally-protected industries for too long. All lawful industries have a right to access federally-secured financial services, but time and again we have seen anti-gun radicals weaponize this industry against Second Amendment Advocates and related businesses. We also thank Representative Andy Barr for his longstanding leadership on this issue through bills like the ‘Fair Access to Banking Act’ which would prohibit financial institutions from discriminating against constitutionally protected industries, and the ‘FIRM Act,’ which would prohibit regulators from using ‘reputational risk’ to pressure the financial services industry into refusing service based on political or social factors.”
Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at NSSF, stated: “NSSF wholeheartedly supports the effort led by Congressman Andy Barr to codify President Trump’s Executive Order prohibiting banking discrimination based on beliefs, affiliations or political views. There is no room in the American economy for unelected Wall Street bankers to decide winners-and-losers based solely on how individuals or entities choose to exercise their Constitutionally-protected rights. Congressman Barr has been a true champion when it comes to battling banking discrimination. He sponsored the NSSF-supported Fair Access to Banking (FAB) Act and the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) Act. NSSF continues to urge Congress to act to put into law these protections against politically-motivated discrimination.”
Kristin Smith, President of Solana Policy Institute, said: “We at Solana Policy Institute strongly endorse Congressman Andy Barr’s efforts to permanently enshrine banking fairness protections into federal law. For too long, blockchain entrepreneurs and crypto ecosystem builders have faced inconsistent account decisions and service denials that have nothing to do with legitimate risk assessment. Rep. Barr understands that America’s competitive advantage in the global digital economy depends on ensuring our most innovative companies have access to the traditional financial system. We look forward to supporting this vital reform through the legislative process.”
Summer Mersinger, CEO of Blockchain Association, remarked: “We applaud Congressman Andy Barr’s leadership in introducing legislation to codify President Trump’s Executive Order guaranteeing free and fair banking for all lawful businesses—including those in the crypto industry. By enshrining the EO’s requirement to eliminate ‘reputation risk’ and mandate objective, risk-based analyses into law, Rep. Barr’s bill will ensure that crypto firms and their customers have lasting access to the banking system. We stand ready to work with Rep. Barr and his colleagues on this critical reform and secure America’s role as the global leader in financial technology.”
Bill Dawson, President of National Pawnbrokers Association noted: “De-risking has been an ongoing challenge for our members who have experienced harmful disruptions to their small businesses after having bank accounts terminated with no explanation. We support this Executive Order, which complements the FIRM Act and Fair Access to Banking Act, as these measures would provide a balanced approach to ensure banking services are available to all lawful, regulated businesses/industries.”
The new legislation prohibits banks from denying services based on political or religious views if businesses are operating legally under federal law.
Some examples cited include firearms manufacturers facing account closures despite compliance with federal laws; cryptocurrency firms experiencing restrictions without clear cause; energy companies such as coal or natural gas producers losing access due not fitting certain environmental standards; Christian nonprofits whose accounts were closed; former President Donald Trump himself being debanked after his first term despite strong credit history; as well as Ambassador Sam Brownback whose personal account was terminated without explanation.
The executive order requires federal regulators not use “reputation risk” when making supervisory decisions regarding banks’ clients or business relationships. It also directs a review of past debanking practices by regulatory agencies such as the Small Business Administration, which must notify affected parties about possible reinstatement.
Andy Barr currently serves in Congress representing Kentucky’s 6th district since 2013 https://barr.house.gov/about. He previously served in Kentucky’s House of Representatives before joining Congress in 2013 https://barr.house.gov/about. Born in Lexington in 1973 https://barr.house.gov/about, he holds degrees from University of Virginia (BA) (1996) https://barr.house.gov/about and University of Kentucky College of Law (JD) (2001).
