Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) said on Monday that BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, should be “dealt with accordingly” for engaging “in illegal and immoral conduct.”
“There are two schools of thought within the GOP on Blackrock. The old guard thinks they’re creating value and need to be rewarded with tax cuts. I think they’re destroying value and are engaged in illegal and immoral conduct. They need to be dealt with accordingly,” Vance wrote.
The Ohio senator responded to Twitter users sharing a video of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink saying at the 2017 New York Times DealBook conference that the financial giant is “forcing behaviors” to boost diversity. The video recently has gone viral.
“You have to force behaviors,” Fink said. “If you don’t force behaviors, whether it’s gender or race, or just any way you want to say the composition of your team, you’re going to be impacted,” Fink remarked.
“We’re going to have to force change,” Fink said.
A BlackRock spokesperson defended Fink’s statements, saying:
This nearly six-year-old clip misconstruing Larry’s words about BlackRock’s own approach to its employees has been circulating for years on social media and is often taken out of context. As a fiduciary, BlackRock’s actions serve one purpose: maximizing long-term financial value for our clients. As an employer, BlackRock seeks to hire employees from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives because we believe this diversity is critical to delivering for our clients in a rapidly changing world.
The spokesperson did not specifically address “forcing behaviors” nor how that delivers “long-term financial value.”
BlackRock and other large asset managers have led the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) movement, which has pressured companies to adopt leftist positions, such as diversity requirements and climate change positions, they otherwise would not back.
Breitbart News has cataloged just a few of the ways that BlackRock has leveraged proxy voting, using their significant stakes in publicly-listed companies to back these leftist positions:
- In April 2021, BlackRock, which owns 7.5 percent of Abbott Labs, pushed the company to publish a report to disclose the company’s plan to promote racial justice. BlackRock pushed for the move against the wishes of Abbott’s leadership.
- In a comment about its vote for the proposal, BlackRock commented, “We recognize the Company’s efforts to date, but believe that supporting the proposal may accelerate company’s progress on material social issues.”
- In May 2021, BlackRock urged United Parcel Services (UPS), of which Blackrock owns 7.3 percent, to issue a report on how the company plans to reduce emissions in alignment with the Paris Agreement’s goal of holding “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and making “efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
- BlackRock voted for this proposal, commenting, “We are supportive of the company’s efforts to date with respect to this material climate issue but believe that voting in favor may accelerate the company’s progress.”
- In May 2022, Blackrock, which owns 6.8 percent of Home Depot, pushed the company to adopt a shareholder proposal to “oversee an independent racial equity audit analyzing Home Depot’s adverse impacts on nonwhite stakeholders and communities of color. Input from civil rights organizations, employees, and customers should be considered in determining the specific matters to be analyzed.”
- BlackRock commented, “We believe it is in the best interests of shareholders to have access to greater disclosure on this issue.”
Vance has told Breitbart News ESG policies are a “massive racket to enrich Wall Street.”
RELATED — WATCH: Cotton Says ESG Movement Benefits China, China ‘Probably’ Funds It Like Russia Funded Anti-Fracking Push:
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.