– CNN reported that President Trump also rescinded a nearly 60-year-old executive order that prohibited government contractors from discriminating in their hiring, firing, promotion or pay practices. Instead, there is a new requirement that those employers certify they do not have what he termed ‘illegal’ diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) programs. He also ordered each federal agency to identify up to nine targets for federal investigations into their DE&I practices to see if they should be judged ‘illegal.’ That includes public companies, large non-profit corporations or associations and major foundations.
The order that Trump rescinded, originally signed by President Lyndon Johnson, applied to virtually every major business and many small companies that together employ about a quarter of workers in the US. It had remained in force through both Democratic and Republican administrations, including Trump’s own first term.
The action has led to concern that even companies that see a value in having a diverse work force and leadership will be nervous about reaching out to women, minorities and other protected classes.
– The WSJ reported that, according to a new report, natural disasters and severe weather cost the global economy $417 bn last year, including $154 bn for which insurers were on the hook. Last year was the warmest on record dating to 1850 and saw a record 21 natural catastrophes with multibillion-dollar price tags, according to a report from Gallagher Re. Gallagher chief science officer Steve Bowen said the trend toward increased losses can be explained, in part, by the warming climate.
Bowen said climate change tends to make weather events such as hurricanes on average more severe but not necessarily more frequent. Weather-related losses have been driven higher by inflation in the cost of rebuilding and the expansion of cities, which creates more developed areas that could be affected by storms where previously there was countryside.
– The AP reported that Trump repealed former President Joe Biden’s guardrails for AI. What comes next and how it will diverge from how his predecessor sought to safeguard AI technology remains unclear. Much of Biden’s order set in motion work across government agencies to study’s AI impact on everything from cyber-security risks to its effects on education, workplaces and public benefits. That work is done.
‘The reports have been written and the recommendations generated, and they’re available for everyone to build on,’ said Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the non-profit Center for Democracy & Technology. ‘The executive order’s work is completed, whether or not it’s rescinded.’ Those reports are helping to inform companies as well as federal agencies and state governments, she said.
One key provision of Biden’s AI order that was still in effect until Monday was a requirement that tech companies building the most powerful AI models share details with the government about the workings of those systems before they are released to the public.
– CNBC reported that, according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management, the Trump administration ordered all federal employees in DE&I roles placed on paid leave by this past Wednesday evening. The memo requires all departments and agencies to inform the employees that they will be put on paid administrative leave as the government prepares to close all DE&I-related offices and programs and to remove all websites and social media accounts for such offices. It also asks federal agencies to submit a written plan by January 31 for dismissing the employees.
Trump signed an executive order Monday ending ‘radical and wasteful’ DE&I programs in federal agencies, with DE&I offices and programs being ordered to shut down.
– The Wall Street Journal reported that, according to people familiar with the matter, Goldman Sachs JPMorgan Chase are in the sights of right-leaning activist groups privately pushing them to abandon or shrink their DE&I efforts. The various groups each own small stakes in shares of the banks they are targeting and submitted proposals challenging their business practices late last year, the people said. They argue that the banks’ policies leave them and their shareholders vulnerable to legal challenges.
A Goldman spokesperson said the bank strongly believes that organizations benefit from diverse perspectives and that it is committed to operating its programs and policies in compliance with the law.
– The WSJ reported that Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at dismantling climate-focused initiatives promoted by the Biden administration. ‘Climate extremism has exploded inflation and overburdened businesses with regulation,’ read one executive order.
The new president ordered US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and issued executive orders temporarily halting offshore wind development in federal waters and stopping the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act, which has routed billions of dollars to renewable energy projects.
In light of Trump’s pullback on climate initiatives, individual US states and governors are committing to pushing legislative changes to reduce emissions. In a letter sent Monday to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s executive secretary Simon Stiell, a coalition of two dozen governors wrote that they remain committed to the Paris Agreement and would work to slash climate pollution despite Trump’s actions.
– SEC acting chair Mark Uyeda launched a crypto task force aimed at developing what the agency called a ‘comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets.’ Commissioner Hester Peirce will lead the task force, which will collaborate with commission staff and the public to ‘set the SEC on a sensible regulatory path that respects the bounds of the law,’ the agency stated.
Ben Maiden
Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...
