Welcome To Fort Wayne Secretary Hegseth!

Honored to welcome Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to Fort Wayne. His message on restoring the “warrior ethos” and rejecting woke policies hit home. I’m proud to have his back in the Senate and will always fight to put America First!

Secretary Of The Navy John Phelan

"Indiana is the quiet giant of America’s defense industrial base…Indiana isn’t just America’s crossroads, it’s one of our key engine rooms.”

Thank you for joining us in Indiana, Secretary Phelan! Hoosiers are proud to power American military dominance. Click here to watch.

Day 1: Northeast Indiana Defense Summit

Grateful to Brigadier General Larry Muennich and the Indiana National Guard leadership for an outstanding panel to start the day. We also heard from Hoosier innovators who are ensuring America — not China — wins the hypersonics race and leads the next generation of weapons technology. And to top it off, we were honored to welcome the Secretary of the Navy to Fort Wayne on Veterans Day. A tremendous start to Day 1 of our summit and a powerful reminder of Indiana’s growing role in our national defense. 

Day 2: Northeast Indiana Defense Summit 

Day 2 of the Northeast Indiana Defense Summit brought another packed agenda focused on strengthening America’s warfighting edge and growing Indiana’s role in our national defense. Highlights included:

• Secretary of War Pete Hegseth kicking off the day with powerful remarks on restoring the warrior ethos.
• Purdue’s Dr. Mark Lewis welcoming attendees and highlighting Indiana’s leadership in defense research and innovation.
• Secretary of the Navy John Phelan joining me for a discussion on rebuilding America’s Navy.
• Indiana’s Defense Footprint Panel, featuring leaders from L3Harris, Kratos, NSWC Crane, and AM General.
• Defense Innovation & Startups Panel, with senior voices from the Department of War, Epirus, Varda, and OneBrief.
• Thomas Tull discussing investing in America’s defense industrial base.
• Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar outlining how to mobilize the U.S. industrial base for the future fight.

We closed the summit with a clear message: Indiana is ready to lead the next era of American defense innovation. Click here and here to watch the full summit.

Presenting The Purple Heart To Robert Drudy

I was honored to present SPC Robert Drudy with the Purple Heart in Fort Wayne with Mayor Sharon Tucker. He was wounded when his vehicle was hit by an IED in Iraq in 2008. There’s no better day than Veterans Day to recognize his courage and share this moment with his family. Click here to watch.

Toughest Senator Fighting Illegal Immigration

Honored to be recognized by the Immigration Accountability Project as the toughest senator fighting against illegal immigration.

Trine University President Dr. Earl Brooks

Great to visit with Trine University President Dr. Earl Brooks yesterday about all of the great things happening there. Record enrollment this year!

Hoosier Vice Admiral Rich Correll

Great meeting with fellow Hoosier Vice Admiral Rich Correll in Washington. He understands the importance of Crane and Indiana’s leadership in hypersonics. I look forward to supporting his nomination to lead U.S. Strategic Command.

IU President Pam Whitten

In my opinion, Pam Whitten is the best president we’ve had at IU since Herman Wells. Great to talk with her in D.C. yesterday about IU football ranking #2 in the nation and all the great things happening at my alma mater. Proud to be a Hoosier! Indiana University

RemedyLIVE Founder Clinton Faupel 

Great to meet with RemedyLIVE founder Clinton Faupel and his wife Tonya to learn about their innovative work reaching young people across Indiana to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl and support mental health.

Veterans History Project

The Veterans History Project (VHP) was created by Congress in 2000 to collect and preserve the first-person narratives from United States military veterans from World War I through present day. Click here if you are a Hoosier veteran and would like to sit down and share your service story.

In the News

• WOWO | Interview: Senator Jim Banks
• WOWO | Banks Joined KB at the 4th Annual Defense Summit
• Fox News | Close ‘critical gaps’ in illegal alien crime reporting
• Commonplace | Banks Oped: Bringing Rare Earths Back
• Press Release | Bill to Expand STEM Scholarships for Veterans
• MyWabashValley | Banks bill to expand coverage for veteran’s prosthetics