Twitter has suspended an Indiana congressman’s official account after removing a post about a transgender official in the administration of US President Joe Biden. The social media company on Saturday said the post was in breach of its rules. Republican Jim Banks posted tweets last week about Dr Rachel Levine, the first openly transgender four-star officer in the US uniformed services. Dr Levine is also the assistant secretary of health. “The title of first female four-star officer gets taken by a man,” Mr Banks responded to the US surgeon general, who congratulated Dr Levine on her promotion in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. The post was removed with a reference to Twitter rules that include a ban on “targeted misgendering” of transgender people. Mr Banks’s official Twitter account remained online on Sunday but he was not allowed to add new posts. His personal account with fewer followers remained active. Mr Banks, whose district covers Fort Wayne and surrounding north-eastern Indiana, has frequently drawn attention with right-wing social media comments. He stood by his post about Levine. “My tweet was a statement of fact,” Mr Banks said. “Big Tech doesn’t have to agree with me but they shouldn’t be able to cancel me. “If they silence me, they will silence you. We can’t allow Big Tech to prevent us from telling the truth.”
