Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) did not hold back in criticizing President Joe Biden for his veto of a resolution aimed at preventing fiduciaries from investing retirement funds by the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, known as ESG.
The Labor Department issued a final rule that reversed a prohibition of retirement investments made with ESG criteria which were established under the Trump administration. Both the House and the Senate had approved a resolution earlier this month ending the final rule, but Biden used the first veto of his time in the White House to block that resolution.
Manchin is known as a centrist and is used to having to counter Biden’s policies and priorities. He made his view clear in a statement condemning what he called an “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.”
Manchin wasn’t alone, even among Democrats. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) also voted with Republican colleagues to reverse the final rule. Both of these Democratic senators are campaigning to keep their seats in very 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.”
American investors are skeptical of the ESG movement and desire that their funds are allocated in a politically neutral manner. In a recent poll, 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.
