Trump Orders SEC to Review Proxy Adviser Rules in ESG Rebuke

President Donald Trump issued an executive order seeking to limit the influence of proxy advisory firms, part of a push to curtail how third-party firms attempt to sway the direction of public companies.

The executive order issued on Thursday directs the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission to review regulation relating to proxy advisers and consider “revising or rescinding those rules, regulations, guidance, bulletins, and memoranda that are inconsistent with the purpose of this order, especially to the extent that they implicate ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ and ‘environmental, social, and governance’ policies.”