Texas Judge Known for Abortion Pill Ruling Backs Biden ESG Rule

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who has proven a reliable roadblock to Biden administration policies, became an unexpected savior of its climate-friendly investing rule for retirement plans.

Kacsmaryk, a Donald Trump-appointed federal trial court judge in the Northern District of Texas, has rejected efforts by the administration to protect asylum seekers and expand teen access to birth control and widespread access to medication abortions.

But in a Sept. 21 opinion, he concluded the administration’s investment rule—which states that fiduciaries may consider environmental, social and governance, or ESG, factors when managing retirement 401(k) accounts— didn’t violate administrative law.

It ...