Red State Treasury reveals why state finance officials are obliged to fight ESG, DEI

Exclusive: As Republican state financial officials across the country gradually emerge from government diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and environment, society and governance (ESG), Fox News Digital talks with Utah’s national financial hosts about the importance of bringing rich exercise and fiduciary responsibilities back to markets and investments.

“ESG introduces another motivation or another motivation or other motivation to solve social problems through capital markets or through investments, and when you do so, you violate the trust standards we all are committed to as financial officials,” Utah state treasurer Marlo Oaks told Fox News News Digital at the Orlando, Florida conference on the State Finance Officers.

“So, since it's a dual task, you do have problems when you manage money for others. If one wants to do this or the family wants to invest like this, that's their choice. But when you manage money for others, we don't have a choice. We have an obligation to do the best interest with justification.”

An investment principle critic said Oak has been at the forefront of the fight against ESG, and companies and institutions use to develop a “wake up” agenda. Authorize several letters About the topic.

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“When you talk about managing funds for the benefit of others, that’s what many national treasurers do, we have a fiduciary obligation to act in the best interests of the beneficiary,” explains Oaks. “So we have a fiduciary obligation and a care obligation.

“And it does focus on the financial outcomes of the beneficiaries. They depend on the money of this pension, so it is our financial obligation or fiduciary obligation to act in their best interest.”

Firefighters, teachers and police who rely on state pensions will be hurt when state or companies invest under factors other than protecting investors, Oaks said.

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President Trump has taken action to cut federal spending. (iStock)

“ESG introduces another motivation or another motivation or other motivation to solve social problems through capital markets or investments, and when you do that, you violate the trust standards we all are committed to as financial officials,” Oaks said.

Oaks and other Republicans at the SFOF meeting were also voice rivals of the DEI measures and praised President Trump for his efforts to withdraw the administration's DEI.

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Oaks told Fox News Digital ESG and Dei that his opposition to Dei could also be linked to a desire that would be most favorable to his state shareholders.

“dei – diversity, equity, inclusion – is actually the social part of ESG, and that's important because many of the pushes by activists in financial markets are pushing the agenda toward U.S. companies to get them to adopt policies in companies that aren't actually in the best interests of those companies. The company has a trust obligation to shareholders. ” Oaks said.

President Donald Trump walked from the Oval Office and boarded the plane on March 28, 2025 on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Florida. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“When they introduce something like dei, you change your hiring practices, rather than based on performance, it will turn to other discriminatory hiring practices that ultimately harm the company and its financial output. So that ends up hurting teachers, firefighters, policemen, policemen, you try to help them retire.”

Oaks are two dozen National Financial Official He alerted financial risks to financial returns (such as DEI) to prioritize the political agenda in March in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), asset managers, acting consultants and public companies.

Oaks told Fox News Digital that when Dei was introduced at the state finance official level, “we could introduce financial harm.”

“And, we've seen that with companies like Bud Light, other companies you know adopt companies that are not in the best interests of shareholders' financial interests. They damage the value of shareholders and ultimately damage the results of these hard-working civil servants and teachers, etc., with their hard-working efforts, they work hard, retire the money they need.”

Deirdre Heaveny of Fox News Digital contributed to this report