<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/kentucky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kentucky</a> Gov. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/andy-beshear" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andy Beshear</a> is the latest prominent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/democratic-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Democrat</a> to turn against his own party and the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>, amid a run for reelection in a heavily <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/republican" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republican</a> state.
Critics of the ESG movement largely align with conservatives and assert that the philosophy intermixes political and social causes in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability. Beshear signed a <a href="https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/23rs/hb236.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a> last week to require fiduciaries of the state’s retirement funds to only consider factors which have a “direct and material connection to the financial risk or financial return of an investment” rather than any “environmental, social, political, or ideological interest” without a connection to the financial realities of an asset.
Beshear, who won an upset victory four years ago in the predominantly Republican state, is presently campaigning for a second term; the general election will occur at the end of the year.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), both of whom will be on their respective ballots in primarily Republican states next year, recently voted against fellow Democrats to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/absolutely-infuriating-manchin-blasts-biden-for-vetoing-rebuke-of-esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pass</a> a resolution scrapping a White House rule that allows retirement fiduciaries to invest in accordance with the ESG movement. President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-uses-first-veto-of-his-presidency-to-kill-rebuke-of-federal-esg-push" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vetoed</a> the resolution last week.
American investors are broadly skeptical of the ESG movement and desire that their funds are allocated in a politically neutral manner. An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-by-two-to-one-margin-investors-reject-woke-companies-pushing-political-causes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclusive poll</a> from The Daily Wire showed last year that 64% of respondents believe “individual investors whose savings are being invested” should decide whether funds are appropriated according to ESG standards, while a mere 20% believe that “Wall Street asset managers” should make such decisions.
Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed <a href="http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_history.cfm?INPUT=2862&amp;year=2023&amp;sessiontype=RS" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legislation</a> this week similar to the law enacted in Kentucky. Justice, a former Democrat who became a Republican six years ago, has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-has-formidable-2024-opponent-for-joe-manchin-in-mind" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> as a possible contender for the Senate seat currently held by Manchin.
Republican officials in both Kentucky and West Virginia lauded the endorsement of the bills.
&#8220;Kentucky now has the strongest anti-ESG legislation in the nation,” Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “For many years, pension investments were about maximizing returns. Recently, however, there has been a destructive shift in investment methodology to use the savings of Americans as financial muscle to push ideological causes through the ESG movement. Kentucky has said no to this shift.”
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“West Virginia is once again leading the way to protect pensioner and taxpayer dollars from woke Wall Street activists who prioritize their own political and social agendas over the best financial interests of our people,” West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore said in another statement provided to The Daily Wire. “Each year, public employees in West Virginia retire from their jobs after decades of service to our state and rely on their hard-earned state pensions to support them and their families through retirement.”
The ESG movement could emerge as a core issue in the 2024 election cycle, particularly among declared and potential Republican primary candidates. Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who currently lead early polls as Republican voters’ preferred nominees, have each spoken against the totalizing investment approach, while former Strive Asset Management Executive Chairman Vivek Ramaswamy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vivek-ramaswamy-top-private-sector-voice-against-esg-teases-possible-presidential-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entered</a> the contest and placed the issue at the center of his platform.

Andy Beshear

Democrat Governor In Heavily GOP State Signs Bill To Crack Down On Woke Investments

Two States Enact Bills To Crack Down On Woke Investments

2024 Election

Democrat

Economy

Kentucky

Politics

Republican

West Virginia

Members of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House</a> failed Thursday to override the veto issued by President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> which overturned their resolution to nix a Labor Department rule supportive of the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>.
The Labor Department issued a <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/final-rule-on-prudence-and-loyalty-in-selecting-plan-investments-and-exercising-shareholder-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">final rule</a> in November which permits retirement fiduciaries to consider climate change and other ESG factors “when they make investment decisions and when they exercise shareholder rights, including voting on shareholder resolutions and board nominations.” Republicans and a handful of Democrats in the House and Senate voted earlier this month to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-and-senate-send-rebuke-of-bidens-esg-agenda-to-his-desk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">overturn</a> the rule; their resolution was nevertheless <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-uses-first-veto-of-his-presidency-to-kill-rebuke-of-federal-esg-push" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vetoed</a> by Biden on Monday.
Lawmakers could have overturned the veto with supermajorities in both chambers; the resolution <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-joint-resolution/30/all-actions?overview=closed&amp;q=%7B%22roll-call-vote%22%3A%22all%22%7D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failed</a> to meet the threshold in the House on Thursday in a vote of 219-200.
“With his veto, the President once again insists on undermining the financial security of the very people who elected him,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said in <a href="https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=408994" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarks</a> ahead of the vote. “Republicans will stand with American workers and retirees in protecting their savings. ESG investing puts the future of millions of Americans in jeopardy when they are already facing economic hardships and inflation brought on by this administration’s reckless spending.”
The final rule from the Labor Department overturns a previous <a href="https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20201030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rule</a> created by former President Donald Trump, which prevented “fiduciaries from selecting investments based on non-pecuniary considerations” and required them to “base investment decisions on financial factors” alone. Skeptics of the ESG movement contend that the investment philosophy intermixes political and social causes, such as decreasing carbon emissions or diversifying company leadership with respect to race or sex, in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability.
Members of the House had voted 216-204 earlier this month in favor of the resolution to eliminate the Biden administration rule, while members of the Senate approved the resolution 50-46. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), both of whom face reelection campaigns next year in broadly conservative states, voted to advance the measure, while Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) also voted for the resolution and joined the attempt to overturn the veto.
“West Virginians are under increasing stress as we continue to recover from a once in a generation pandemic, pay the bills amid record inflation, and face the largest land war in Europe since World War II,” Manchin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/absolutely-infuriating-manchin-blasts-biden-for-vetoing-rebuke-of-esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> after the veto. “The administration’s unrelenting campaign to advance a radical social and environmental agenda is only exacerbating these challenges.”
American investors are broadly wary of the ESG movement and desire that their retirement funds are allocated in a politically neutral manner. An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-by-two-to-one-margin-investors-reject-woke-companies-pushing-political-causes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclusive poll</a> from The Daily Wire showed last year that 64% of respondents believe “individual investors whose savings are being invested” should decide whether funds are appropriated according to ESG standards, while a mere 20% believe that “Wall Street asset managers” should make such decisions.
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Republicans had considered the resolution a rebuke of the White House’s recent nods toward the ESG movement. Biden, on the other hand, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/03/20/message-to-the-house-of-representatives-presidents-veto-of-h-j-res-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> on Monday that the “Republican-led resolution would force retirement managers to ignore” risk factors such as climate change, as well as spurn “the principles of free markets” and harm the retirement savings of households.

President Biden Delivers Remarks On Economy

Biden’s Woke Investment Rule Stays Intact As House Fails To Override Veto

House Fails To Override Biden's Veto Of Anti-ESG Bill

Biden Administration

Congress

U.S. House of Representatives

Wokeness

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/republican-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republican</a> state attorneys general rebuked senior <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">financial</a> authorities on Tuesday over the role that left-wing regulatory priorities allegedly played in the recent collapse of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/silicon-valley-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Silicon Valley Bank</a>.
The financial institution imploded earlier this month as depositors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/regulators-shut-down-major-tech-bank-after-run-on-savings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rushed</a> to withdraw their funds and the company suffered heavy losses from the liquidation of a long-term bond portfolio. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation now directs holdings maintained by Silicon Valley Bank, which California state regulators closed on March 10, as well as Signature Bank in New York, which was closed on March 12.
Sixteen state attorneys general contended in a letter addressed to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and other senior officials that recent emphasis on purported climate-related financial risks from regulators distracted from the focus on risk management that Silicon Valley Bank and other companies should have maintained.
“To put it bluntly, the administration’s zealotry in fighting climate change by unwisely and illegally attempting to convert federal financial regulators into environmental activists is inextricably intertwined with these bank failures and the fallout from them,” said the letter, which was provided to The Daily Wire. “Your warping of the financial regulatory system undermines both the safe and sound operation of financial institutions and the public’s faith in the fairness and efficacy of the regulatory regime.”
The Federal Reserve has recently introduced programs meant to evaluate perceived climate-related financial risks. Policymakers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-will-evaluate-climate-related-financial-risks-with-help-from-bidens-new-climate-officer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unveiled</a> an initiative with six of the nation’s largest banks last year to examine various risk scenarios posed by rising worldwide temperatures, although officials said no “capital consequences” would emerge from the exercise.
Policymakers also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-treasury-advisory-committee-on-racial-equity-to-be-led-by-defund-the-police-advocate-former-philadelphia-mayor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> an initiative with the Treasury Department meant to consider the private sector’s approach to climate risk. President Joe Biden signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/05/20/executive-order-on-climate-related-financial-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> at the beginning of his tenure asking all agencies to examine the apparent problem.
“Your forays into environmental regulation undermine faith in financial regulation as a general matter, as they create the perception that the regulatory apparatus is more concerned with political issues than ensuring the integrity of the financial system,” the attorneys general continued. “You should publicly direct banks to pursue profitability, liquidity, and prudent risk management, and note that declining to serve customers for failing to comply with unrealistic climate initiatives like achieving net zero by 2050 is a threat to the financial system.”
Among the signatories of the document were Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire that the failure of Silicon Valley Bank is a “warning sign that the administration’s environmental activism in its financial regulation not only ignores real financial risk but increases it.”
Republican state officials have condemned asset management companies and the Biden administration in recent months for advancing the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as ESG. Skeptics of the investment approach note that companies devoted to the movement advance specific left-wing political and social causes, such as decreasing carbon emissions or diversifying company leadership with respect to race or sex, in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability.
Silicon Valley Bank indeed faced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/failed-svb-criticized-for-hyper-focus-on-woke-dei-initiatives-lgbt-activism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">backlash</a> in the wake of its collapse for an apparent emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The firm neglected to fill its senior risk management role for most of last year while the executive in charge of risk management in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East described herself as a “queer person of color from a working-class background” and organized LGBTQ initiatives such as a month-long pride campaign.

US-POLITICS-BANKING-BIDEN-POWELL

Woke Regulations Led To Silicon Valley Bank Collapse, Republicans Argue In Letter To Regulators

Republicans Pin Silicon Valley Bank Collapse On Regulatory Wokeness

Climate Change

Republicans

Silicon Valley Bank

U.S.

Sen. <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/joe-manchin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Manchin</a> (D-WV) rebuked President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> for his veto of a resolution that would have prevented fiduciaries from investing retirement funds in accordance with the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>.
The Labor Department recently issued a final rule that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-barred-retirement-plans-from-mixing-wokeness-with-profits-biden-is-reversing-that-rule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reversed</a> a prohibition of retirement investments made with ESG criteria established under the Trump administration. Members of the House and Senate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-and-senate-send-rebuke-of-bidens-esg-agenda-to-his-desk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> a resolution earlier this month nixing the final rule, and Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-uses-first-veto-of-his-presidency-to-kill-rebuke-of-federal-esg-push" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> the first veto of his tenure on Monday to block the resolution.
Manchin, widely regarded as a centrist and a prominent critic of some Biden administration policy priorities, issued a <a href="https://www.manchin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/manchin-statement-on-president-bidens-veto-of-bipartisan-challenge-to-esg-rule-politicizing-americans-401ks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> condemning the “absolutely infuriating” veto.
“West Virginians are under increasing stress as we continue to recover from a once in a generation pandemic, pay the bills amid record inflation, and face the largest land war in Europe since World War II,” he said. “The administration’s unrelenting campaign to advance a radical social and environmental agenda is only exacerbating these challenges.”
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) also voted with Republican colleagues to reverse the final rule. Both Manchin and Tester are campaigning to retain their Senate seats in heavily conservative states.
“This ESG rule will weaken our energy, national, and economic security while jeopardizing the hard-earned retirement savings of 150 million West Virginians and Americans,” Manchin added. “Despite a clear and bipartisan rejection of the rule from Congress, President Biden is choosing to put his Administration’s progressive agenda above the well-being of the American people.”
Skeptics of the ESG movement assert that the investment philosophy intermixes political and social causes, such as decreasing carbon emissions or diversifying company leadership with respect to race or sex, in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability. They point to lackluster <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virtue-signaling-isnt-free-how-woke-investing-fell-apart-once-the-economy-got-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">performance</a> from ESG funds amid market turmoil over the past year as evidence that the approach fails to set aside ideological preference when performance declines.
Republicans had lauded the resolution as a rebuke of the White House’s nods toward the ESG movement. Biden, however, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/03/20/message-to-the-house-of-representatives-presidents-veto-of-h-j-res-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> on Monday that the “Republican-led resolution would force retirement managers to ignore” risk factors such as climate change, as well as disregard “the principles of free markets” and harm the retirement savings of American families.
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American investors, on the other hand, are skeptical of the ESG movement and desire that their funds are allocated in a politically neutral manner. An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-by-two-to-one-margin-investors-reject-woke-companies-pushing-political-causes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclusive poll</a> from The Daily Wire showed last year that 64% of respondents believe “individual investors whose savings are being invested” should decide whether funds are appropriated according to ESG standards, while a mere 20% believe that “Wall Street asset managers” should make such decisions.
Biden signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/05/20/executive-order-on-climate-related-financial-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> months into his tenure asserting that the “intensifying impacts of climate change present physical risk to assets, publicly traded securities, private investments, and companies.” The administration therefore established the Climate-Related Financial Risk Advisory Committee to “understand and mitigate the risks that climate change poses” to economic stability. The body <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-claims-effects-of-climate-change-could-cascade-through-the-financial-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener">includes</a> members of government agencies, prominent academics, and employees of private entities such as JPMorgan Chase and the Bezos Earth Fund.

Joe Manchin

‘Absolutely Infuriating’: Manchin Blasts Biden For Vetoing Rebuke Of ESG

Manchin Hammers Biden For Vetoing Rebuke Of ESG Regime

President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> vetoed legislation on Monday that would have overturned a Labor Department rule allowing retirement fiduciaries to invest in accordance with the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>.
The Labor Department issued a <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/final-rule-on-prudence-and-loyalty-in-selecting-plan-investments-and-exercising-shareholder-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">final rule</a> last year that reflected the Biden administration’s purported efforts to safeguard the economy from “climate-related financial risk that may threaten the life savings and pensions of America’s workers and families.” Under the new rule, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-barred-retirement-plans-from-mixing-wokeness-with-profits-biden-is-reversing-that-rule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reverses</a> a prohibition created under the Trump administration, fiduciaries are allowed to weigh “the economic effects of climate change and other ESG considerations” as long as the concerns are relevant to a risk-and-return analysis.
The veto, which is the first issued by Biden, overturns a resolution passed by Republicans and a handful of Democrats in order to nix the rule. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), both of whom are campaigning for re-election next year in heavily Republican states, voted alongside their GOP colleagues to advance the measure.
“There is extensive evidence showing that environmental, social, and governance factors can have a material impact on markets, industries, and businesses. But the Republican-led resolution would force retirement managers to ignore these relevant risk factors, disregarding the principles of free markets and jeopardizing the life savings of working families and retirees,” Biden said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/03/20/message-to-the-house-of-representatives-presidents-veto-of-h-j-res-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">message</a> to lawmakers released on Monday. “In fact, this resolution would prevent retirement plan fiduciaries from taking into account factors, such as the physical risks of climate change and poor corporate governance, that could affect investment returns.”
Critics of the ESG movement, on the other hand, assert that the investment philosophy mingles political and social causes, such as diversifying company leadership with respect to race or sex, in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability. They point to lackluster <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virtue-signaling-isnt-free-how-woke-investing-fell-apart-once-the-economy-got-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">performance</a> from ESG funds last year as technology firms, which ESG managers tend to favor because of their emphasis on corporate social responsibility and internal workforce diversity, suffered in the stock market while energy companies, which ESG managers tend to dislike because of carbon emissions associated with the sector, witnessed outsized returns.
Republicans formerly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-and-senate-send-rebuke-of-bidens-esg-agenda-to-his-desk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">celebrated</a> the resolution as a rebuke of the federal government’s endorsement of the movement. “Today’s bipartisan vote makes clear what we have long said: ESG is an attempt to circumvent the democratic process to advance an inherently political agenda,” State Financial Officers Foundation CEO Derek Kreifels said in comments provided to The Daily Wire earlier this month. “Any move to supplant or dilute the fiduciary duty would undercut the foundations of our economic freedom and harm the American worker.”
American investors are largely skeptical toward ESG investment strategies and desire that their funds are allocated in a politically agnostic manner. An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-by-two-to-one-margin-investors-reject-woke-companies-pushing-political-causes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclusive poll</a> from The Daily Wire showed last year that 64% of respondents believe “individual investors whose savings are being invested” should decide whether funds are appropriated according to ESG standards, while a mere 20% believe that “Wall Street asset managers” should make such decisions.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-424485">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Senior officials in the Biden administration have nevertheless promoted tenets of the ESG movement in their various agencies. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-claims-effects-of-climate-change-could-cascade-through-the-financial-system" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> at the first meeting of the newly established Climate-Related Financial Risk Advisory Committee that extreme weather across the nation is attributable to climate change and “can lead to declines in asset values that could cascade through the financial system.” Members of the body include staffers from government agencies, universities, and private entities such as JPMorgan Chase and the Bezos Earth Fund.

President Biden Departs White House For Delaware

Biden Uses First Veto Of His Presidency To Kill Rebuke Of Federal ESG Push

Biden Issues First Veto Of His Presidency

Democrats

Executive

Joe Biden

Stock Market

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched a new initiative with 18 other states on Thursday to fight back against President Joe Biden&#8217;s woke environmental, social, corporate governance (ESG) agenda.
The other states that are joining the effort include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
A press release from the governor&#8217;s office said that ESG was &#8220;destabilizing the American economy and the global financial system.&#8221; The effort comes after Congress passed legislation to keep politics out of the retirement funds of American citizens, an effort that Biden opposed. 
 &#8220;We as freedom loving states can work together and leverage our state pension funds to force change in how major asset managers invest the money of hardworking Americans, ensuring corporations are focused on maximizing shareholder value, rather than the proliferation of woke ideology,&#8221; the joint statement from the states said. &#8220;[Biden&#8217;s actions] puts the pensions of thousands of hardworking Americans at risk to the radical environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) movement, rather than prioritizing investment decisions on the highest rate of return.&#8221;
&#8220;Retirees, already suffering from the reckless fiscal policies of the Biden Administration, will continue to experience diminished returns on the investment of their hard-earned money while the corporate elite continue to use their economic power to impose policies on the country that they could not achieve at the ballot box,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;The proliferation of ESG throughout America is a direct threat to the American economy, individual economic freedom, and our way of life, putting investment decisions in the hands of the woke mob to bypass the ballot box and inject political ideology into investment decisions, corporate governance, and the everyday economy.&#8221;
The statement outlined the following two efforts that the states agree to fight together on:
<ul>
<li>Protecting taxpayers from ESG influences across state systems: Among other actions, this may include blocking the use of ESG in all investment decisions at the state and local level, ensuring that only financial factors are considered to maximize the return on investment, protecting retirees and taxpayers alike. This may also include eliminating consideration of ESG factors by state and local governments when issuing bonds or prohibiting state fund managers from considering ESG factors when investing taxpayer money.</li>
<li>Protecting citizens from ESG influences in the financial sector: Among other actions, this may include banning the financial sector from considering so called “Social Credit Scores” in banking and lending practices aimed to prevent citizens from obtaining financial services like loans, lines of credit, and bank accounts. This may also include stopping financial institutions from discriminating against customers for their religious, political, or social beliefs, such as owning a firearm, securing the border, or increasing our energy independence.</li>
</ul>
DeSantis said in a statement that he gave the directive to fight against &#8220;the pernicious effects of the ESG regime by directing our state pension fund managers to reject ESG and instead focus on obtaining the highest return on investment for Florida’s taxpayers and retirees.&#8221;
&#8220;At the time I said we would spearhead an initiative to join with other like-minded states to send an even louder message to the financial industry that the American people have rejected ESG at the ballot box, and ideologues cannot and should not circumnavigate the will of the people,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Today, we have delivered on that promise. Florida has emerged as America’s economic engine, with an unemployment rate consistently lower than the nation’s and the highest rate of business formations of any other state. We will not stand idly by as the stability of our country’s economy is threatened by woke executives who put their political agenda ahead of their clients’ finances.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-fires-back-at-biden-for-claiming-its-sinful-to-protect-minors-from-trans-surgeries">DeSantis Fires Back At Biden For Claiming It’s ‘Sinful’ To Protect Minors From Trans Surgeries</a>

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Speaks At The Freedom Blueprint In Iowa

Ron DeSantis Launches Alliance With 18 Other States To Fight Against Biden’s Woke ESG Agenda

Ron DeSantis

Social Issues

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/banks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Santander Bank</a> Executive Chair Ana Botin discussed the company’s decision to prioritize moving more <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei" target="_blank" rel="noopener">women</a> into senior leadership positions.
The retail banking company, which is based in Boston and owned by the Santander Group in Spain, recently committed to ensuring that one-third of leadership roles would be occupied by female employees. “We’re making a huge effort but we have to do it the right way,” Botin said in an <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/08/santanders-ana-botin-rotating-roles-will-help-women-get-to-the-top-.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with CNBC published Wednesday. “But we also have to accelerate and so we’re putting in place plans to actually make that happen faster.”
Among the plans include rotating female employees through roles “which tend to be occupied by men” such that the women are more likely to rise in the company. “Basically having some kind of rule or incentive,” Botin continued, “so that you move people around faster so that women can have experiences that allow them to get to the top.”
Increasing the percentage of females in leadership positions is a goal often pursued by companies devoted to diversity, equity, and inclusion, also known as DEI, as well as the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, commonly known as ESG.
David Bahnsen, the founder of Manhattan-based wealth management firm The Bahnsen Group, told The Daily Wire that leadership quotas for females risk delegitimizing women who qualify for the roles by their own merit. “Why should a talented female executive be held in suspicion of being a forced hire when her talents and capabilities can speak for themselves?” he noted.
Santander nevertheless touted its female leadership quotas in a Wednesday <a href="https://www.santander.com/en/stories/committed-to-women" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> meant to commemorate International Women’s Day; the firm has maintained between 40% and 60% of female representation on its board of directors for the past two years in accordance with previous ESG <a href="https://www.santander.com/content/dam/santander-com/en/documentos/esg-presentation/2022/do-esg-presentacion-2022-en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commitments</a>, which also included financing the development of electric vehicles and mobilizing billions of euros in support of a transition toward renewable energy sources.
Proponents of female leadership quotas claim that firms which institute such policies tend to be more profitable, an assertion that Bahnsen and other skeptics dispute. “If there were such a connection, why not hire 100% females? It is a non-serious attempt performed in a non-serious matter,” he continued. “No one believes that profitability can be measured and assessed in a causative manner around things like gender. The very suggestion is sexist on its face.”
Critics of the ESG movement assert that the investment philosophy mingles political and social causes, such as diversifying company leadership with respect to race or sex, in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability. ESG funds <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virtue-signaling-isnt-free-how-woke-investing-fell-apart-once-the-economy-got-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffered</a> amid last year’s underperformance among technology firms, which ESG managers tend to favor because of their emphasis on corporate social responsibility and internal workforce diversity, and overperformance among energy companies, which ESG managers tend to shirk because of their dislike for industries with heavy carbon emissions.
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Bahnsen concluded that firms that recruit and promote in accordance with the merit of the candidates will see the best results in the long run. “A company focused on hiring the best candidates, which in a world of only two genders will always feature some percentage of men and some percentage of women, will perform the best,” he said. “I am more and more convinced that these sorts of quota-based gender and race pronouncements are an attempt to pacify the critics of a market economy by appealing to a side hustle of the woke left. Companies that announce such intent and criteria are performing an overt act of marketing and pharisaism and nothing else.”

Banco Santander SA Chairman Ana Botin Interview

‘An Overt Act Of Marketing’: Leading Bank Increases Quota For Women In Senior Roles

Leading Bank Increases Quota For Women In Senior Roles

Banks

Business

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/treasury-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Treasury</a> Secretary <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/janet-yellen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Janet Yellen</a> contended on Tuesday that <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a> may lead to “declines in asset values” and warned that a “delayed and disorderly transition” to renewable energy sources could harm the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">financial</a> system.
Yellen delivered the comments at the first meeting of the Climate-Related Financial Risk Advisory Committee, a body created to “understand and mitigate the risks that climate change poses” to economic stability. The economist’s remarks correspond to assertions from other Biden administration officials who have claimed that carbon emissions may impact the economy.
“As climate change intensifies, natural disasters and warming temperatures can lead to declines in asset values that could cascade through the financial system,” Yellen said in prepared remarks obtained by The Daily Wire. “And a delayed and disorderly transition to a net-zero economy can lead to shocks to the financial system as well. These impacts are not hypothetical. They are already playing out.”
Yellen cited storms and wildfires in California, Florida, and Louisiana as evidence that climate change is posing economic harm, even as scientists <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-newsom-others-tie-california-weather-to-climate-change-experts-say-not-so-fast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reject</a> the notion that there is a proven link between individual weather phenomena and a warming climate. “Taking climate change into account is prudent risk management,” Yellen nevertheless continued. “Our work builds on the scientific consensus regarding the projected effects of climate change and is based on a widely accepted understanding of how the financial system works.”
Members of the Climate-Related Financial Risk Advisory Committee include Catherine Ansell, the executive director of climate risk at investment bank JPMorgan Chase, as well as Cecilia Martinez, the principal advisor for resilience and communities at the Bezos Earth Fund. Several academics also sit on the body, which was established by the Financial Risk Advisory Committee last year, according to a <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0987" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> from the Treasury Department.
“Some of you have very specialized expertise in modeling climate risks and working with climate data,” Yellen said. “Others have experience helping financial institutions respond to and manage their own climate risks. And others have experience advancing environmental justice. I’m excited for this group to begin meeting, and for us to benefit from your expertise.”
The first meeting of the Climate-Related Financial Risk Advisory Committee occurs after the Labor Department introduced a <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/final-rule-on-prudence-and-loyalty-in-selecting-plan-investments-and-exercising-shareholder-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">final rule</a> that would allow retirement fiduciaries to weigh “the economic effects of climate change and other ESG considerations” as long as such concerns are relevant to a risk-and-return analysis. The new rule, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-barred-retirement-plans-from-mixing-wokeness-with-profits-biden-is-reversing-that-rule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reverses</a> a prohibition formerly created under former President Donald Trump, would “safeguard the financial security of America&#8217;s families, businesses and workers from climate-related financial risk that may threaten the life savings and pensions of America&#8217;s workers and families.”
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Republican members of the House and Senate, as well as a handful of Democrats, overturned the final rule last week. President Joe Biden is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-and-senate-send-rebuke-of-bidens-esg-agenda-to-his-desk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to veto the lawmakers’ resolution.
Critics of the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, often abbreviated as ESG, assert that the investment philosophy mingles political and social causes, such as reducing carbon emissions and achieving racial diversity, in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability. The previous <a href="https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20201030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rule</a> established by the Trump administration barred retirement fund managers from “selecting investments based on non-pecuniary considerations” and required them to “base investment decisions on financial factors” alone.

Treasury Secretary Yellen And Fed Chair Powell Testify Before House Financial Committee On Coronavirus And CARES Act

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Claims Effects Of Climate Change Could ‘Cascade Through The Financial System’

Yellen: Climate Change Could ‘Cascade Through The Financial System’

Janet Yellen

Treasury Department

Senate Majority Leader <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/chuck-schumer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chuck Schumer</a> (D-NY) accepted more donations in the last election cycle from <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/blackrock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BlackRock</a> and individuals affiliated with the firm than any other member of Congress.
The connection between the lawmaker and the asset management company was <a href="https://twitter.com/ExposingBiden/status/1631035233788129282" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> by the American Accountability Foundation, a non-profit government oversight and research organization, after Schumer rebuked efforts to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-and-senate-send-rebuke-of-bidens-esg-agenda-to-his-desk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scrap</a> a Labor Department rule that would allow retirement fiduciaries to allocate funds in accordance with the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>. Both the House and Senate passed a resolution opposed to the rule, which President Joe Biden is expected to veto.
BlackRock is a leading proponent of the ESG movement, which critics say mingles political and social causes such as decreasing carbon emissions and achieving racial diversity in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability. Schumer nevertheless accepted $103,950 from individuals associated with BlackRock and $10,000 from a political action committee controlled by the company, according to <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recipients?id=D000021872&amp;cycle=2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> compiled by OpenSecrets.
“ESG opponents are trying to turn it into a dirty acronym, deploying attacks they&#8217;ve used for elements of a so-called woke agenda,” Schumer <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/1630969596785065989" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on social media this week as the resolution moved through Congress. “They call ESG wokeness. They call it a cult. They call it an incursion into free markets. I say ESG is just common sense.”
Candidates from both parties benefit from BlackRock money, with Republicans getting $639,000 and Democrats getting $453,000 in the most recent midterm election cycle. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) were the second and third-largest individual recipients of funds from BlackRock and individuals associated with BlackRock.
A previous Labor Department <a href="https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20201030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rule</a> established by the Trump administration prohibited retirement fund managers from “selecting investments based on non-pecuniary considerations” and required them to “base investment decisions on financial factors” alone. Under the new rule from the Biden administration, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-barred-retirement-plans-from-mixing-wokeness-with-profits-biden-is-reversing-that-rule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reverses</a> the prohibition on ESG investments for retirement fiduciaries, investment managers are allowed to weigh “the economic effects of climate change and other ESG considerations” as long as they are relevant to a risk-and-return analysis.
Members of the House voted 216-204 in favor of a resolution to scrap the rule, while members of the Senate approved the resolution 50-46. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) voted with Republicans to advance the measure, which was introduced by Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
Schumer meanwhile contended in an <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/republicans-ought-to-be-all-for-esg-environment-climate-investment-fiduciary-retirement-free-market-5d3faecc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opinion piece</a> for the Wall Street Journal that Republicans are inconsistent with their own principles by opposing the new rule. “Republicans talk about their love of the free market, small government and letting the private sector do its work,” he wrote. “But their obsession with eliminating ESG would do the opposite, forcing their own views down the throats of every company and investor. Republicans would prevent investors from adapting to the future, for their own good and the good of the country.”
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Schumer also asserted that ESG investments “minimize risk and maximize their clients’ returns” and are used by “America’s most successful asset managers and financial institutions.” The claim occurs after ESG funds <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virtue-signaling-isnt-free-how-woke-investing-fell-apart-once-the-economy-got-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffered</a> amid last year’s underperformance in the technology sector, which ESG managers tend to favor because of their emphasis on corporate social responsibility, and overperformance in the energy sector, which ESG managers tend to shirk because of their avoidance of industries with heavy carbon emissions.
BlackRock’s assets under management declined from $10 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2021 to $8.6 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the firm’s most recent <a href="https://s24.q4cdn.com/856567660/files/doc_financials/2022/Q4/BLK-4Q22-Earnings-Release.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earnings report</a>. Executives <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blackrock-introduces-first-mass-layoff-in-years-after-losing-1-5-trillion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> the first mass layoffs at BlackRock in four years.

Chuck Schumer

Here’s The Lawmaker Who Accepts More BlackRock Money Than Any Other Member Of Congress

Schumer Accepts More BlackRock Money Than Any Other Lawmaker

BlackRock

Republicans and a handful of Democrats in the House and Senate rebuked the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> over a rule that would allow retirement fiduciaries to invest in accordance with the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a>.
The Labor Department published a <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/fact-sheets/final-rule-on-prudence-and-loyalty-in-selecting-plan-investments-and-exercising-shareholder-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">final rule</a> last year that reflected the Biden administration’s directive to safeguard the economy from “climate-related financial risk that may threaten the life savings and pensions of America’s workers and families.” Under the new rule, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-barred-retirement-plans-from-mixing-wokeness-with-profits-biden-is-reversing-that-rule" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reverses</a> a prohibition formerly created under the Trump administration, fiduciaries are allowed to weigh “the economic effects of climate change and other ESG considerations” as long as such concerns are relevant to a risk-and-return analysis.
Members of the House voted 216-204 in favor of a resolution to scrap the rule, while members of the Senate approved the resolution 50-46. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) voted alongside Republicans to advance the measure, which was introduced by Sen. Mike Brain (R-IN) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
“President Biden is putting Hoosiers’ retirement savings at risk by changing the rules to allow money managers to invest based on progressive political goals rather than on the best rate of return,” Braun said in a <a href="https://www.braun.senate.gov/senate-passes-senator-brauns-bipartisan-challenge-biden-401k-rule-major-rebuke-white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “President Biden will now receive a searing, bipartisan rebuke of his policy that’s going to hurt Americans’ retirement savings.”
Republicans celebrated the resolution&#8217;s passage as an admonishment of the Biden administration’s support of the ESG movement. Beyond the multiple Republican state attorneys general who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/attorneys-general-sue-biden-admin-over-rule-that-lets-esg-into-retirement-savings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed suit</a> against the rule, Republican state treasurers likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/states-have-pulled-nearly-12-billion-from-blackrock-this-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divested</a> some $12 billion from asset management company BlackRock last year over the firm’s embrace of ESG.
“Today’s bipartisan vote makes clear what we have long said: ESG is an attempt to circumvent the democratic process to advance an inherently political agenda,” State Financial Officers Foundation CEO Derek Kreifels said in comments provided to The Daily Wire. “Any move to supplant or dilute the fiduciary duty would undercut the foundations of our economic freedom and harm the American worker.”
The previous <a href="https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20201030" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rule</a> established by the Trump administration prohibited retirement fund managers from “selecting investments based on non-pecuniary considerations.” It required them to “base investment decisions on financial factors” alone. Skeptics of the ESG movement assert that the investment philosophy mingles political and social causes, such as reducing carbon emissions and achieving racial diversity, in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability.
Biden is expected to nix the resolution, which would mark the first veto of his administration.
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“Republicans talk about their love of free markets, small government, and letting the private sector do its work. The Republican bill is opposite of that,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a prepared <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2023/03/01/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-15/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> delivered on Wednesday. “It forces MAGA Republicans’ ideology down the throats of private sector and handcuffs investors as well.”
ESG could emerge as a core issue in the Republican presidential primary. Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who currently lead early polls as Republican voters’ preferred nominees, have each spoken against the totalizing investment philosophy, while former Strive Asset Management Executive Chairman Vivek Ramaswamy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vivek-ramaswamy-top-private-sector-voice-against-esg-teases-possible-presidential-run" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entered</a> the contest and placed the issue at the center of his platform.

President Biden Delivers Remarks On The Economy In Maryland

House And Senate Send Rebuke Of Biden’s ESG Agenda To His Desk

House And Senate Vote To Scrap White House ESG Rule

U.S. Senate

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/united-airlines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">United Airlines</a> launched an effort on Tuesday to find more <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">environmentally</a> sustainable alternatives to jet <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/oil-and-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fuel</a>.
The company announced that partners such as JPMorgan Chase, Air Canada, Boeing, GE, and Honeywell are investing more than $100 million into United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund, which is described as a “first-of-its-kind investment vehicle designed to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing air travel by accelerating the research, production and technologies associated with sustainable aviation fuel.” The substance would be an alternative to conventional jet fuel capable of reducing carbon emissions.
&#8220;Solving climate change is doable but it requires hard work and real leadership,&#8221; United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a <a href="https://united.mediaroom.com/2023-02-21-United-Rallies-Businesses-and-Consumers-with-New,-First-of-its-Kind-100-Million-Sustainable-Flight-Fund" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. &#8220;This fund is unique. It&#8217;s not about offsets or things that are just greenwashing. Instead, we&#8217;re creating a system that drives investment to build a new industry around sustainable aviation fuel, essentially from scratch. That&#8217;s the only way we can actually decarbonize aviation.&#8221;
Aircraft are responsible for some 3% of total carbon emissions in the United States, according to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/documents/us-ghg-inventory-2020-main-text.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Environmental Protection Agency. Sustainable aviation fuel, also known as SAF, can be “made from renewable biomass and waste resources” and has “the potential to deliver the performance of petroleum-based jet fuel but with a fraction of its carbon footprint,” according to a <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/sustainable-aviation-fuels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Department of Energy.
United Airlines <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/major-airline-places-massive-bet-on-electric-planes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> efforts to decarbonize air travel last year by preordering 400 electric aircraft from Eve Air Mobility with a $15 million investment into the venture. United Airlines likewise committed to spending $10 million on 100 electric planes from Archer Aviation.
“United has made early investments in several cutting-edge technologies at all levels of the supply chain, staking out our position as a leader in aviation sustainability and innovation,” United Airlines Ventures President Michael Leskinen remarked last year. “We believe our suite of clean energy technologies will revolutionize air travel as we know it and serve as the catalyst for the aviation industry to move toward a sustainable future.”
United Airlines immediately faced questions on the prudence of spending resources on finding an alternative to jet fuel. CNBC anchor Joe Kernen noted during an <a href="https://twitter.com/SquawkCNBC/status/1628026345564303364" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Kirby that more than $3.8 trillion has been spent over the past decade on renewable energy even as fossil fuels declined from 82% to 81% of overall energy consumption. “This seems like you’re putting your toe in the water to say ‘We are trying to do something,’ but realistically speaking, when do you see any real replacement for the jet fuel you use right now?” Kernen asked. “What is a realistic number without just feeling good about doing this?”
Kirby responded by admitting that the green energy transition will not “happen overnight” but said sustainable aviation fuel must first reach commercial scale. “We’ve got to start making the investment today,” he said. “I am certain that’s the only way to eventually get to an answer for SAF and a hard-to-decarbonize industry like aviation.”
The sustainability investments and subsequent criticism of United Airlines comes amid backlash against the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as ESG, under which companies vow to seek outcomes such as emissions reduction or higher racial diversity in a manner that distracts from profit maximization.
United Airlines has vowed to completely eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. “We must reach across industries to develop coordinated efforts to accomplish what must be our collective goal of carbon neutrality,” Kirby said on a <a href="https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/company/global-citizenship/environment.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">webpage</a> about the company’s environmental commitments.

United Airlines Pours Millions Into ‘Decarbonizing Air Travel’ With Alternative To Jet Fuel

United Airlines Pours Millions Into Decarbonizing Air Travel With Alternative To Jet Fuel

Environment

Oil and Gas

United Airlines

Strive Asset Management Executive Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vivek-ramaswamy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vivek Ramaswamy</a>, a former biotechnology executive and a leading voice against the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/esg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESG</a> investing movement, teased a possible bid for the White House on Monday.
The business leader has been garnering name recognition in the crucial Republican primary state of Idaho, according to a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/02/13/anti-woke-ramaswamy-2024-election-00082414" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from POLITICO, and plans to run an ideas-based campaign. Ramaswamy would enter a Republican primary field currently led by former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Ramaswamy appeared to <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1625133742195896320" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirm</a> his presidential ambitions Monday on social media, retweeting the Politico story and commenting “stay tuned.”
“I think the GOP has a historic opportunity to answer the question of what it means to be an American at the moment where we lack a national identity,” Ramaswamy told the outlet. “I’m grateful that many Republican governors and other leaders have borrowed my message and woven it into their policy agendas. But when it comes to who leads our country next, I believe that it’s going to take a leader who shares his own vision, not someone else’s, and that’s what calls me to do this.”
He has reportedly assembled a campaign team of nearly 20 people: Kathy Barnette, the former Pennsylvania Senate primary candidate, will lead his potential grassroots efforts, while Tricia McLaughlin, who led communications for Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, would be his press secretary.
The former chief executive of Roivant Sciences launched Strive last year in an attempt to lead portfolio companies to reject investment strategies motivated by the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement. Strive recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vivek-ramaswamys-strive-asset-management-to-uproot-esg-moves-at-three-major-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unveiled</a> a series of actions at ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Home Depot meant to prevent the firms from “prioritizing ESG over excellence.” The company, for instance, co-authored a shareholder resolution for Home Depot that would undo an earlier proposal supported by BlackRock to conduct a “racial equity audit.”
A son of Indian immigrants and a graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School, Ramaswamy often contends that the economic woes faced by the United States are worsened by a rejection of meritocracy and an embrace of left-wing political and social agendas.
“I believe that I’ve developed a vision for American national identity that I have deep conviction for and is the product of my own journey of having lived the gifts that this country has afforded me,” he told POLITICO. “And the combination of both doing it intellectually and having personally experienced that vision of our nation makes me well suited to articulate that and deliver on it.”
Ramaswamy’s candidacy would follow Republican state treasurers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/states-have-pulled-nearly-12-billion-from-blackrock-this-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divesting</a> some $12 billion from asset manager BlackRock over the firm’s promotion of the ESG movement. States such as Texas and Oklahoma have passed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/oklahoma-treasurer-puts-banks-and-asset-managers-on-notice-moves-to-purge-esg-investments-from-state-government" target="_blank" rel="noopener">measures</a> that would sanction asset management companies which boycott the fossil fuel industry for ideological reasons. Republican attorneys general recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/attorneys-general-sue-biden-admin-over-rule-that-lets-esg-into-retirement-savings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> suit against the Biden administration’s Labor Department over a rule that would nix a previous ban on ESG investments for retirement fiduciaries.
American investors are largely skeptical toward ESG investment strategies and desire that their funds are allocated in a politically agnostic manner. An <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/poll-by-two-to-one-margin-investors-reject-woke-companies-pushing-political-causes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclusive poll</a> from The Daily Wire showed last year that 64% of respondents believe “individual investors whose savings are being invested” should decide whether funds are appropriated according to ESG standards, while a mere 20% believe that “Wall Street asset managers” should make such decisions.

Key Speakers At Conservative Political Action Conference

Vivek Ramaswamy, Top Private Sector Voice Against ESG, Teases Possible Presidential Run

Vivek Ramaswamy Teases Possible Presidential Run

Elections

Republican Party

Vivek Ramaswamy

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