Twitter suspends Rep. Jim Banks' account after he misgendered openly trans health official Rachel Levine

• Rep. Jim Banks is suspended on Twitter after misgendering Dr. Rachel Levine.
• Levine is the first openly trans person who holds a position that had to be confirmed by the Senate.

Twitter on Saturday suspended Rep. Jim Banks' account after he misgendered Dr. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Levine in March became the first openly trans person to hold a position that requires confirmation by the Senate. She recently received the honor of the four-star officer title, meaning she was sworn in earlier this week as an admiral. With this title, Levine becomes the first openly trans person to hold the distinction.

"This is a momentous occasion, and I am honored to take this role for the impact I can make and for the historic nature of what it symbolizes," Levine said during a swearing-in ceremony.

Banks, a Republican representative from Indiana, responded to Levine's four-star officer news on Twitter, saying that "the title of first female four-star officer gets taken by a man."

Twitter, in response, suspended Banks from accessing his account. Banks' comment, Twitter said, violated its policy on hateful conduct, which bars any "targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals."

Twitter said it would restore his account once he deletes the tweet.

Banks, in response to the temporary suspension, said on his personal account that Twitter is retaliating against him for "posting a statement of FACT."

-Jim Banks (@Jim_Banks) October 23, 2021

And throughout Sunday, he twice retweeted a blog post from a conservative outlet that also misgendered Levine.