Attacks on ESG Taking Shape in Republican Fights for Congress

Shortly after assuming sole leadership of one of the world’s largest hedge funds, David McCormick hailed “sustainable investing” as “a strategic priority for” his Bridgewater Associates and its clients.

Less than two years later, as he prepared for his second bid to represent Pennsylvania in the US Senate, McCormick wrote that his firm had reluctantly provided “market-driven” services “with strict guardrails"—and only after facing “significant pressure from our biggest clients.”

“My greatest concern is that the ESG push will undermine our merit-driven, capitalist system by driving corporate leaders to lose sight of their commitment to their shareholders ...