Following the demise of Silicon Valley Bank, the argument put forth by conservatives that the bank failed because it was too “woke” has gained traction.
Republicans like Kentucky House Oversight Chair James Comer and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis argued that the bank was overly focused on its ESG (environmental, social, and governance) goals and diversity-related policies.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., put a new spin on this talking point on Thursday, claiming Silicon Valley Bank was “too woke to fail.”
The Missouri Republican claimed that the bank was assisted by the federal government because it made investments in powerful people-backed climate change solutions.
“‘Too woke to fail’ says that they’re politically connected and pursuing an agenda, which I’m sure that they put forward to people here, who see that — ‘This is important, we’ve invested all this stuff, you can’t let this go under!’ My view is they should be treated like everybody else,” Hawley said.
The unfounded claims that “wokeness” is to blame for Silicon Valley Bank’s predicament channel a common refrain that has resonated with Republican grassroots, blaming “woke” attitudes for a wide range of national issues.
In a tweet on Monday, Hawley claimed that one reason SVB failed was that it was “funding woke garbage” like clean energy initiatives.
But when questioned for proof that “woke” or climate-based investments were to blame for SVB’s financial woes, Hawley recanted his assertion on that Thursday.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said. “It seems like they made bad decisions.”
To avoid a government bailout, federal authorities supported Silicon Valley Bank customers using the FDIC’s existing deposit protection fund, according to President Joseph Biden and his friends.
Hawley and other people claimed it to be a bailout.
“I’m sure they did this deliberately, I’m sure they sold us to retailers: ‘We’re pursuing an important agenda on climate change,’ and whatever, and I just think — that doesn’t mean they deserve a bailout,” he said. “You can’t tell me that if a bank, a community bank in Missouri had failed, that regulators would have rushed to bail them out.”
