WOWO EXCLUSIVE – Senator Jim Banks talks Homeland Security and History with Kayla

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO) — U.S. Sen. Jim Banks discussed a recent visit to northeast Indiana and ongoing developments in Washington during his weekly appearance on Fort Wayne’s Morning News with Kayla Blakeslee , offering updates on both a local museum exhibit and federal funding negotiations. Banks confirmed that he returned to Columbia City, Indiana last weekend for an event at the Whitley County Historical Museum , where a new exhibit highlighting items from his time in public office has been unveiled. “It was in Columbia City,” Banks said. “I had our three daughters with me, and I took them with me to this banquet for the Whitley County Historical Museum. And they thought it was really funny. They’re like, ‘Dad, you’re in a museum.’” Banks said the exhibit includes materials collected during his years in public service, including correspondence and memorabilia from his time in Congress. “It’s sort of a political collection of signed letters and programs from events, the funeral programs for President George H.W. Bush and Senator John McCain and Billy Graham and signed letters from President Trump and President Biden,” he said. He added that the collection spans a wide political spectrum. “If you don’t like President Trump, I got letters from Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi and a lot of other people,” Banks said. “And then just literally hundreds of signed letters from my colleagues.” Banks said some of the items reflect relationships developed early in his congressional career, including correspondence with Mike Johnson . “I have probably dozens of letters and correspondence back and forth between my friend Mike Johnson when he and I were freshmen members of Congress together,” he said. According to Banks, the decision to donate the collection locally was intentional. “I wanted to donate it to my local hometown museum because I love Columbia City. I love history,” he said. He referenced visiting the Thomas R. Marshall House as a student, noting its connection to former Vice President Thomas R. Marshall . “Hopefully this collection I’ve donated to the museum inspires some kid who does a field trip there today,” Banks said. Banks noted that additional official documents and records from his career have been donated to Indiana University , consistent with common practice for former elected officials. During the interview, Banks also addressed federal funding discussions involving the Department of Homeland Security . He said the Senate is preparing to move forward with a funding measure through the reconciliation process. “We’re going to go into a process where we go through a bunch of amendments,” Banks said. “We’re marking up a spending bill using the reconciliation process that only requires 50 votes instead of 60 to move forward.” Banks said he expects the measure to pass the Senate. “I’m pretty confident we’ll pass it out of the Senate,” he said. “There are 53 Republicans. I think all of us are in favor of passing this spending bill. Maybe Rand Paul will vote against it, maybe someone else, but we’ll get the votes.” He added that the process could extend overnight. “I’ll be drinking coffee all day, all night long,” Banks said. “It’ll be an all-nighter, but it’s really important.” The proposed funding legislation would then move to the U.S. House for consideration. No final vote has been announced.