At a time when voters are clamoring for generational change in Washington, Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) are looking to capitalize on that sentiment.
Gallego and Banks, who were elected to the Senate in November after serving in the House together, have long been seen as partisan warriors with bright futures in their respective parties.
But the two have a lot in common. They’re both 45 years old, have young kids, served in the military and come from working-class backgrounds. And both senators love reminding anyone who will listen that they’re decades younger than many of their colleagues.
Their Senate “long game” — both as party messengers but also as an unlikely bipartisan duo — began last week with a four-day swing through Slovakia, Germany and the United Kingdom.
“We plan on being around for a long time. And building these relationships abroad and working on these issues together is something we plan on doing for a long time to come,” Banks said in a joint interview with Gallego.
Overlapping agenda: The freshman senators overlapped in the House for eight years. They both served on the Armed Services Committee and traveled abroad together.
Gallego and Banks say they want to use that bond to their advantage. Not just to help their own parties, but to address big challenges that require bipartisan buy-in. That includes ensuring effective deterrence in Europe and Asia, as well as caring for U.S. veterans.
“We have ‘same eyes, different lenses,’ but he’s experienced the same ups and downs [in life],” Gallego said.
Banks said the pair is interested in starting a Senate working group focused on the Nordic region, especially given President Donald Trump’s focus on Greenland.
The long game: Both men made it clear that despite their interest in working together, they’re still party loyalists.
Banks enthusiastically backed up Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who’s been mired in yet another Signal-related scandal. Meanwhile, Gallego praised Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for his visit to El Salvador, where he met with an undocumented Salvadoran immigrant who was mistakenly deported there.
Gallego said his personal goal with last week’s bipartisan CODEL was to remind U.S. allies that “there’s still a U.S. Senate” despite the “rough patch” brought on by Trump. Banks echoed Trump’s message of a renewed focus on China and encouraging Europe to do more to counter Russia.
It’s worth noting that Gallego comes from a purple state that Trump won in November. He does sometimes criticize his party.
Although he’s a staunch Trump supporter, Banks has long encouraged the GOP to focus more on the needs of the working class.
“The next generation of American politics is gonna be determined by whether Republicans keep the working-class vote… or whether Ruben’s party is able to pull [them] back,” Banks said.
