Huizenga bashes ‘woke’ companies while taking money from them

Republican leadership recently made U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) the head of a GOP effort to curb companies from investing in environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies, criticizing some companies he took money from for his reelection campaign.

In early February, House Republicans announced the launch of a working group to “combat the threat to our capital markets posed by those on the far-left pushing ESG.” In addition to leading the group, Huizenga subsequently bashed several companies the right has accused of using ESG policies, which they describe as a “woke ideology,” including major asset managers like BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard.

“No. Larry Fink’s fooling himself and trying to fool others,” Huizenga said about BlackRock CEO Larry Fink when Politico’s Zach Warmbrodt asked if his plan went against free market ideals of innovation.

“The basics of capitalism are the basics of capitalism, and he is trying to mold them and shape them into a social fabric that he wants to see.”

Despite his willingness to criticize these companies and their polices, Huizenga accepted thousands of dollars each from BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard for his reelection last year.

Additionally, Huizenga’s former deputy chief of staff Marliss McManus went to work for Vanguard as a “Congressional Relations Professional” directly after leaving Huizenga’s staff. McManus has lobbied on ESG issues while working with Vanguard.

Huizenga has been a member of the Committee of Financial Services since his first term in 2011. He is also one of the many Republicans in recent months to openly voice their support for either recategorizing or cutting safety net programs like Social Security and Medicare.