{"id":2643486,"date":"2026-08-12T07:42:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T11:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndei-mandates-in-federal-retirement-agency-contracts-are-at-odds-with-trumps-discrimination-ban\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T07:51:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T11:51:36","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndei-mandates-in-federal-retirement-agency-contracts-are-at-odds-with-trumps-discrimination-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndei-mandates-in-federal-retirement-agency-contracts-are-at-odds-with-trumps-discrimination-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"DEI In Fed Retirement Contracts At Odds With Trump Agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigndei-mandates-in-federal-retirement-agency-contracts-are-at-odds-with-trumps-discrimination-ban%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2643486&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Trump has attempted to reduce the influence of racist DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) ideology within the federal government. However, certain agencies still incorporate race- and sex-based mandates in their contracting requirements.A recent example involves federal contracts with investment firms BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) to manage the Thrift savings Plan (TSP),a retirement fund for federal employees and service members. These contracts include mandates requiring the firms to report on diversity metrics, such as the use of minority- and women-owned brokers and management diversity, which align with DEI principles.Despite Trump&#8217;s executive order aimed at banning discriminatory DEI activities in federal contracting, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB), which manages the contracts, operates independently and is not bound by this order, thus still including these DEI-related provisions. Critics argue that such requirements contradict the governance&#8217;s policies and suggest that the federal government should enforce compliance. Previous concerns have been raised about BlackRock and SSGA promoting left-wing policies thru proxy voting and ESG standards. Legislation has also been proposed to prevent these firms from using federal retirement funds to push ESG and DEI agendas.The Federalist notes that many federal employees and retirees oppose the inclusion of these policies in the management of their retirement funds.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>President Trump has taken significant steps to crack down on the pervasiveness of racist DEI ideology throughout the federal government. But even amid such efforts, there are pockets within the bureaucracy where this worldview remains at large. <\/p>\n<p>The latest example of this phenomenon comes in the form of federal contracts to a pair of high-profile investment firms to manage a major government retirement program. Obtained by The Federalist, these agreements contain preferred race- and sex-centric mandates that run counter to the administration\u2019s efforts to root out such discriminatory ideology from the federal bureaucracy. <\/p>\n<p>The controversial requirements are included in the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board\u2019s (FRTIB) 2020 contracts with asset managers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/for-profit\/blackrock-inc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BlackRock<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/for-profit\/state-street-global-advisors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">State Street Global Advisors (SSGA)<\/a> (now State Street Investment Management (SSIM)) to oversee the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsp.gov\/about-the-thrift-savings-plan-tsp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)<\/a>, which essentially operates as a 401(k) for federal employees and uniformed service members. The FRTIB is an independent agency established in 1986 that seeks to assist these individuals \u201cprepare for their retirement years via the TSP,\u201d according to its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.frtib.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The contracts contain numerous requirements that the two investment firms must fulfill as part of their contractual obligations in managing TSP. Several of those mandates appear to align with <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dei\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) ideology<\/a>, which dismisses merit and instead discriminates based on characteristics like skin color and sex.<\/p>\n<p>Under a section titled \u201cDeliverables,\u201d the contracts specify that BlackRock and SSGA\/SSIM must provide a series of reports to the FRTIB Contracting Officer\u2019s Representative (COR) that \u201cshall be reviewed and updated every year to reflect changes in policies and procedures and any applicable regulatory guidance.\u201d These reports are broken up into four timetables \u2014 daily, monthly, quarterly, and annual \u2014 and mandate the firms to submit varying information required by the agency for each period.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s under the \u201cAnnual Reports\u201d section in which the FRTIB requests multiple data points that tie into left-wing DEI ideology. Among the information sought, the agency requires that BlackRock and SSGA\/SSIM each \u201cProvide a report on the investment manager\u2019s use of women\/minority owned brokers,\u201d \u201cProvide data on the firm\u2019s management composition as it relates to women\/minorities,\u201d and \u201cProvide a summary of the firm\u2019s diversity philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The contracts are set to expire \u201c120 months from award or at the end of the agreement period, whichever is earlier,\u201d according to the documents. <\/p>\n<p>The revelations are notable given that Trump signed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2026\/03\/addressing-dei-discrimination-by-federal-contractors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">executive order<\/a> on March 26 to ban \u201cracially discriminatory DEI activities\u201d in federal contracting. The edict lays out a series of actions to be taken by the director of the Office of Management and Budget and others to ensure compliance with the order, as well as guidance for penalizing those who do not comply with its directives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDEI activities are not only unethical and often illegal, but also cause inefficiencies, waste, and abuse within entities that engage in such practices,\u201d the order reads. \u201cSpecifically, DEI activities impose artificial costs in hiring, promotion, and operations by precluding implementation of merit-based principles; creating excessive workforce turnover by elevating immutable characteristics over job performance; and jeopardizing the sort of employee collaboration and problem-solving that is essential to fostering efficient and high-quality work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The president\u2019s directive is tailored towards amending the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsa.gov\/policy-regulations\/regulations\/federal-acquisition-regulation-far\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Federal Acquisition Regulation<\/a>. According to the U.S. government, the FAR is the \u201cprimary regulation for use by all executive agencies in their acquisition of supplies and services with appropriated funds.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The problem, however, is that the FRTIB <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usgovernmentmanual.gov\/Agency?EntityId=AS+RdWOA6oU=&#038;ParentEId=+klubNxgV0o=&#038;EType=jY3M4CTKVHY=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">holds<\/a> a \u201cunique status\u201d as a \u201cself-funded Federal agency with independent budgetary authority that receives no annual appropriations from the U.S. Congress.\u201d As such, it is \u201cnot strictly bound by the Federal Acquisition Regulation.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Put another way, the executive order seemingly doesn\u2019t encompass the FRTIB\u2019s contracts with BlackRock and SSGA\/SSIM, even as the agreements\u2019 race- and sex-based requirements go against the spirit of the administration\u2019s anti-DEI policy agenda. <\/p>\n<p>Speaking to The Federalist, American Accountability Foundation President Tom Jones noted the FRTIB\u2019s \u201cincredibly impactful\u201d nature and scope as a federal agency. He further observed how \u201ca significant portion\u201d of the \u201cmillions\u201d of federal employees and retirees enrolled in TSP are conservatives who don\u2019t support DEI in contracts involving stewardship of their finances.<\/p>\n<p>These people \u201cprobably don\u2019t want these kinds of crazy left-wing policies in the contracts that manage their money. They want to just make as much money as [they] can so [they] can retire,\u201d Jones said. <\/p>\n<p>The AAF president suggested that the Trump administration should \u201clook at expanding\u201d the president\u2019s executive order to \u201csweep in the FRTIB\u201d if possible. He also advised White House leadership to \u201cprovide guidance to the FRTIB to instruct them to tell BlackRock and SSGA that the diversity provisions are no longer binding, as they are contrary to U.S. government policy.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Office of Management and Budget declined to comment at this time. <\/p>\n<p>This is hardly the first time BlackRock and SSGA\/SSIM have come under fire for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/usaa-scorns-its-trump-voting-members-by-debanking-the-lawyer-who-defended-him\/\" title=\"USAA Upsets Trump-Supporting Members by Removing Lawyer Who Defended Him\">embracing left-wing ideology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In June 2021, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and then-Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/finance\/investing\/republicansask-federal-retirement-planfor-details-on-blackrock-state-streets-votes-11625139430\">sent<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/aboutblaw.com\/YpA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> to the FRTIB expressing concerns that the firms \u201care using their control of proxy votes for federal employees\u2019 Thrift Savings Plan \u2026 investments to pressure other companies to adhere to their own environmental and social policy views.\u201d As The Federalist previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/11\/10\/how-biden-is-laying-the-foundation-for-a-great-reset-of-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, such environmental, social, and governance (<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/esg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ESG<\/a>) standards are tools used to evaluate companies based on how left-wing they are and can reward or punish businesses based on their commitment to leftist concepts such as \u201cenvironmental\u201d and \u201csocial\u201d justice.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cruz.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/sen-cruz-introduces-bill-to-stop-abuse-of_federal-retirement-funds-for-dei-and-esg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">introduced<\/a> legislation last year to prohibit asset managers like BlackRock and SSGA\/SSIM, \u201cwho manage federal employee retirement funds,\u201d from using those monies to advance ESG and DEI policies \u201cthrough corporate shareholder votes.\u201d The bill was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/senate-bill\/3263\/all-actions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">referred<\/a> to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee but has yet to receive a vote. <\/p>\n<p>The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board did not respond to The Federalist\u2019s request for comment by deadline. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump targets DEI in federal contracts despite ongoing issues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2643487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Donald-Trump.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[16574,84031,32891],"class_list":["post-2643486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dei","tag-fed-retirement","tag-trump-agenda"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Donald-Trump.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2643486"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2643495,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643486\/revisions\/2643495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2643487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2643486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2643486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2643486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}