The Evolving Anti-DEI and Anti-ESG Landscape: Implications for the Public Sector
Boards will seek to minimize their legal and regulatory risks, particularly considering that DEI and ESG programs face increased hostility. On January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14173. The main thrust of this Executive Order (“EO”) was to eliminate “illegal” Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) programs across all federal agencies. Additionally, the […]
Allison Wyderka is the Head of Product and Research for Proxy Services, and Wickham Egan is the Director of Business Development and Operations, at Egan-Jones Ratings Company. This post is based on their Egan-Jones memorandum.
Boards will seek to minimize their legal and regulatory risks, particularly considering that DEI and ESG programs face increased hostility.
On January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14173. [1] The main thrust of this Executive Order (“EO”) was to eliminate “illegal” Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) programs across all federal agencies. Additionally, the EO called for the Attorney General and heads of all agencies to “advance in the private sector the policy of individual initiative, excellence, and hard work.”
The President called for a report within 120 days of the EO that requests all agencies outline their plan to target the “most egregious and discriminatory DEI practitioners” that are part of their jurisdictions, including targeting via civil compliance investigations, litigation, regulatory action, sub-regulatory guidance, and any other strategies possible. Each agency is required to identify up to nine civil compliance investigations of publicly traded corporations, institutions of higher education (with endowments over $1B) and foundations with assets over $500 million that will also be under scrutiny.
