Kerby Anderson
More than a year ago, I talked about the phenomenon of “debanking.” This occurs when an individual is denied banking services because of their political stance or business venture.
At the time, I talked about Nigel Farage who lost access to banking services in the U.K., which he believed was due to his previous involvement in Brexit. I also talked about Dr. Joseph Mercola, who was informed that his business bank accounts along with the bank accounts of his family members were all closed. He believed that was because of his previous statements about the Covid vaccine.
The allegation of debanking was given more prominence due to an interview Joe Rogan did with Marc Andreesen, who is in the tech industry and best known as the co-founder of Netscape. In the interview, he said he knows 30 tech company founders who have been debanked within the past four years. His claim set off a flood of anecdotes from other social media users complaining they also lost access to their accounts.
Add to this the claim from Melania Trump who wrote in her memoir that her “longtime” bank closed her account. It also refused to open an account for her teenage son Barron (who was just in high school at the time).
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency denies that it directs banks to open or close bank accounts. But it is worth remembering that years ago, the Department of Justice began a program (known as Operation Choke Point) with banks to fight fraud. But the program apparently was also used to hurt legal businesses (like gun sellers) that the administration didn’t like.
The incoming administration will no doubt investigate the issue of debanking. And I predict they will discover there was validity to these many allegations.

Kerby Anderson
Today is January 6. For the last four years, anytime you said the words “January 6” your mind went to the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and resulted in more than $2 million in damage. This year, the date, January 6, 2025, will have less drama. As one commentator put it, “Donald Trump’s victory has made January 6 boring again.”
This date is when a joint session of Congress counts the Electoral College votes to formalize the election. There was some controversy eight years ago since Hillary Clinton won the popular vote while Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote. Some prominent Democrats and media personalities had encouraged the electors in some of the states to vote for Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump. But the session that took place eight years ago had little controversy.
But the 2016 election did highlight concerns about what is called “a faithless elector.” In that election, ten members of the Electoral College voted or attempted to vote for a candidate other than the one for whom they were pledged. Three votes were invalidated under that state’s faithless elector law. The remaining seven did not affect the election but illustrated a future problem.
Perhaps the biggest controversy in Congress this January was the vote for Speaker of the House. In the past, voting for the Speaker and counting the Electoral College votes have been perfunctory. That either of these votes or tabulations is controversial points to the divided nation we live in today.
There are certain to be other controversies in Congress this session. But when Donald Trump won both the popular vote and the Electoral College vote, he made January 6 boring again.