The Senate on Wednesday embraced a resolution that aims to reverse a Biden administration rule on so-called "woke" environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, teeing up what may end up being the first veto of the Biden presidency.
The Senate vote was 50-46 to block the ESG rule, multiple news sources said, with a small number of Democrats joining Republican colleagues to call for striking the Biden administration policy.
The measure, which passed in the House on Tuesday, now goes to Joe Biden's desk; and the White House has already set the stage for that first veto, saying Biden would nix the legislation
ESG is the term for making investments in an environmentally conscious or otherwise ethical way. The rule under fire specifies that a money manager can consider climate change and other ESG factors in promoting various retirement investments. The notion has come under fire, with many state and federal lawmakers saying it is forcing "woke" and politically correct, left-tilted values on people.
Biden's rule replaced a Trump-era rule that the Biden administration says discouraged consideration of ESG factors even where it's in the best financial interest of a plan to do so.
As reported by The Hill, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who is sometimes a thorn in the side of the administration as a more conservative, contrary voice in the chamber, was among the Democrats who voted to nix the Biden rule. The Hill quoted him as saying Biden's rule is "another example of how our administration prioritizes a liberal policy agenda over protecting and growing the retirement accounts of 150 million Americans.”
Opponents emphasize that besides forcing woke values on investors, the rule puts potential limits on profit and hurts legacy industries like oil.
Supporters of ESG say that following the Biden-policy principles allows people to make money, while also making a positive impact on the world and factoring in such perils as climate change.