DeSantis and other prominent Republicans blame 'woke' politics for Silicon Valley Bank's collapse instead of bankers miscalibrating risk

Mon, 03/13/2023 - 21:51

James Comer, a door to Silicon Valley Bank, and Ron DeSantis are pictured. — Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky (left) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have claimed that politics may have been behind Silicon Valley Bank's downfall.
AP Images/Insider composite

Some Republicans blamed "woke" investment strategies for Silicon Valley Bank's downfall.
Economists say the bank was squeezed by high interests rate and a balance sheet laden with Treasury bills.
The GOP has increasingly portrayed itself as against "wokeism" in all aspects even when the definition is unclear.

Conservatives are blasting their new boogeyman of wokeism after the second-largest bank collapse in US history, eschewing the more straightforward story of problematic balance sheets in favor of raw politics.