Though North Carolina Representative Jeff Jackson may have posted a 2 a.m. TikTok detailing Congress’s emergency meeting on Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank’s respective collapses, it seems one message resonated loud and clear from his definitely-not-panicked proclamation  — the U.S. economy isn’t entirely fucked just yet.


Advertisement

In the wee hours of Monday, March 13, Rep. Jackson took a break from (rightfully) roasting Congress for not having its shit together, attempting to help Congress get its shit together, and sparking national security concerns with his social media presence to offer a late-night explanation of what the hell is going on with these banks (a.k.a closest thing we’re getting to a Fireside Chat in these trying times).



“It’s about 2 am and I just wanted to bring you up to speed on everything that happened tonight because you’re probably seeing a lot of headlines right now,” a (probably) sleep-deprived Jackson commended his video, sporting what may easily be the most Zelensky-core ‘fit seen on this side of the Atlantic ocean.


“Earlier tonight, there was an emergency Zoom call with several hundred members of Congress,” he continued. “It was convened by the treasury department and we were given about 15 minutes' notice.”



After proceeding to describe his “not normal” meeting experience — “It was literally on regular zoom,” Rep. Jackson said before detailing how he was “sent a link,” clicked it, and found that “most of congress was there” — the North Carolina lawmaker explained what, exactly went down during the emergency meeting.  



“The purpose was to announce the extraordinary steps that will now be taken to secure our financial system,” he said, outlining how the government would back any deposits of more than $250,000 —  a.k.a. the cap for FDIC protection — “with a fund that banks already pay into” as opposed to “taxpayer money.”


“We were also told that only the depositors were being made whole – shareholders and bondholders in the two failed banks will be ‘wiped out,’” Rep. Jackson added, noting that this action was to prevent further banks from failing.


“Right now, every step being taken has one purpose, to make sure this domino effect ends now. We caught it early enough so taxpayers won’t have to pay, we can pass the bill on to the bank as long as this panic stops here.”


Let’s hope he’s right — it’s not like the fate of the entire U.S. banking system depends on it.