President Joe Biden has vetoed his first bill that prevents “woke” cultural movements from being taken into account when making investment decisions.
Biden explained his decision on Twitter, saying that the legislation was overly influenced by “MAGA Republicans.”
“I just vetoed my first bill. This bill would risk your retirement savings by making it illegal to consider risk factors MAGA House Republicans don’t like. Your plan manager should be able to protect your hard-earned savings — whether Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likes it or not,” Biden announced.
The bill would have ended enforcement of a new Labor Department rule that urged private retirement plan fiduciaries to take environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) into account when making investment decisions.
Under the rule, fiduciaries who make investment decisions for the retirement plans of more than 150 million people would be explicitly allowed by federal regulations to take into account how businesses address social issues such as climate change in addition to their financial performance and return on investment.
Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin blasted Biden for the veto, saying that the president was placing “radical” social agendas over the American people.
“This Administration continues to prioritize their radical policy agenda over the economic, energy and national security needs of our country, and it is absolutely infuriating,” Manchin wrote in a statement on Monday. “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. The Administration’s unrelenting campaign to advance a radical social and environmental agenda is only exacerbating these challenges.”
“President Biden is choosing to put his Administration’s progressive agenda above the well-being of the American people,” he added.
The White House had previously said Biden would veto the legislation if it passed Congress. In a Statement of Administration Policy, the White House noted the rule was not a mandate but was meant to help retirement plan managers recognize the factors connected to ESG can be significant in reviewing investment decisions.
“The President vetoed the bill because it jeopardizes the hard-earned life savings of cops, firefighters, teachers, and other workers – all in service of an extreme, MAGA Republican ideology.” White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said in a statement.
