WASHINGTON — A popular stereotype in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank failure is that the financial institution went down because it “woke up” too much.
Republicans such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and House Oversight Chair James Comer of Kentucky claimed the bank was focused on policies around diversity and the consideration of environmental and social factors in investments – known as ESG.
But on Thursday, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., put a twist on the matter, saying the Silicon Valley bank was actually “too awake to fail.”
The Missouri Republican told NBC News the bank received help from the federal government because it invested in climate change solutions backed by powerful people.
“‘Too Wake to Fail’ says that they are really politically engaged and pursuing an agenda, which I’m sure they put forth here in front of people who see that – ‘This is important. Well, we’ve invested all this stuff, you can’t let it go down!’ My view is that they should be treated like everybody else,” Hawley said.
Claims Linking Silicon Valley Bank Situation to “Awakening” Which lacks factual basis, channels a common belief that has struck a chord with the Republican grassroots in blaming the “woke up” approach to a vast array of national problems.
Hawley tweeted Monday that the SVB failed partly because it “funds the trash” like clean energy activities.
But Hawley retracted that Thursday when asked what his evidence was for “waking up” or climate-based investing being a reason for SVB’s financial failures.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he said. “It seems like they made the wrong decisions.”
After federal regulators blocked Silicon Valley bank depositors access through the FDIC’s existing Deposit Insurance Fund, President Joe Biden and his allies argued that pot of money is covered by fees on banks — and not taxpayer bailouts.
Hawley, among others, said it was a bailout.
“I’m sure they did it intentionally, I’m sure they sold us to the retailers: ‘We’re pursuing an important agenda on climate change,’ and whatever, and I think — its Doesn’t mean they deserve bailouts,” he said. “You can’t tell me that if any bank, a community bank in Missouri, had failed, regulators would have rushed to bail them out.”
