Trump Targets Two Financial Firms Over DEI And ESG Push

President Donald Trump took aim at two major financial firms he said were pushing racial quotas and climate activism onto American companies in an executive order on Thursday. 

The executive order accused the proxy advisor firms of Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis of pushing leftist politics into the shareholder voting process. Both companies control over 90% of the market for proxy advising in the United States and advise powerful clients on how to vote on shareholder proposals on things ranging from climate policy to board composition. 

“These proxy advisors regularly use their substantial power to advance and prioritize radical politically-motivated agendas — like ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ and ‘environmental, social, and governance’ — even though investor returns should be the only priority,” Trump wrote in his executive order. “For example, these proxy advisors have supported shareholder proposals requiring American companies to conduct racial equity audits and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and one continues to provide guidance based on the racial or ethnic diversity of corporate boards.”

Glass Lewis has provided guidelines recommending against boards with fewer than one member of “an underrepresented community.” It defines “underrepresented” as non-white people or sexual minorities. It will also generally recommend against a board “that fails to provide explicit disclosure concerning the board’s role in overseeing [climate change] issues.”

ISS has adopted similar guidelines, noting that it will generally vote against companies with no women on the board, against boards with no racial or ethnic diversity, and vote against companies it says have not taken “minimum steps” to address “climate change” risks. 

“Their practices also raise significant concerns about conflicts of interest and the quality of their recommendations, among other concerns,” Trump wrote. “The United States must therefore increase oversight of and take action to restore public confidence in the proxy advisor industry, including by promoting accountability, transparency, and competition.”

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The executive order directed the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission to review all regulations related to proxy advisors and DEI mandates and directed the chair of the Federal Trade Commission to join state investigations into whether proxy advisors were violating unfair trade practices. It also calls for the attorney general and the secretary of labor to investigate the influence of proxy advising. 

Last month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against ISS and Glass Lewis, accusing them of violating Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and state antitrust laws. Both firms are currently under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission over how they direct clients on social and climate issues. 

In August 2023, the House Judiciary Committee launched an investigation into ISS and Glass Lewis, probing their partnerships with climate activist groups and their push to “decarbonize” corporations.