Manchin Says Biden’s ‘Radical’ ESG Agenda Is ‘Absolutely Infuriating,’ Undermines National Security

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, presides over a hearing on battery technology, at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, on Sept. 22, 2022. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) sharply criticized the Biden administration on Monday after President Joe Biden vetoed bipartisan legislation aimed at blocking a regulation that would push private retirement plan fiduciaries to consider environment, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions for tens of millions of savers.

Manchin, one of two Senate Democrats who voted with Republicans to nullify the proposed Department of Labor (DOL) rule on ESG, argued that the Biden administration was putting a radically progressive agenda ahead of the financial well-being of 150 million Americans while undermining national security.