Paxton sues the Biden administration not to jeopardize US workers’ pensions by advancing Woke ESG goals

AUSTIN, Texas — Attorney General Paxton is co-leading a multi-state lawsuit against the Biden administration to stop a new U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) rule that prioritizes environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) investment over protection. retirement savings of approximately two-thirds of the US population, which is about 152 million workers.

The rule allows fiduciaries to consider non-financial factors when managing trust assets, which is likely to cause many to focus on promoting the ESG program instead of achieving long-term financial stability for their clients. In addition to damaging the retirement accounts of hard-working Americans, this rule is fundamentally illegal, as well as arbitrary and capricious. It violates both the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), which was created to protect pension assets, and the Administrative Procedures Act. DOL has also moved away from previous policies as its 2020 rule required financial factors to take precedence over non-financial or non-monetary factors.

“This rule is an insult to every American who is concerned about their retirement account,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The fact that the Biden administration is now choosing to risk the financial security of working-class Americans to advance a political agenda is offensive and illegal. For generations, federal law has required fiduciaries to put their clients’ financial interests first, and I intend to fight the Biden administration in court so they can’t put hardworking Americans’ retirement savings at risk.”

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