FRTIB's DEI Mandates in BlackRock/SSGA Retirement Contracts Conflict with Trump's Anti-DEI Agenda
Source: Shawn Fleetwood. "DEI In Fed Retirement Contracts At Odds With Trump Agenda." August 12, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The article argues that federal retirement contracts with BlackRock and State Street contain diversity-related reporting requirements that clash with Trump's anti-DEI executive order, even though the retirement board managing these funds isn't technically required to follow that order. The author suggests the Trump administration should close this loophole and eliminate these DEI provisions since they don't align with the administration's broader goals and conflict with what many federal retirees supposedly want.
Conclusion
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board's contracts with BlackRock and SSGA/SSIM contain DEI mandates that should be removed or nullified because they conflict with the spirit of Trump's executive order banning discriminatory DEI activities in federal contracting.
Premises
- The FRTIB's 2020 contracts with BlackRock and SSGA/SSIM require the firms to report on their use of women/minority-owned brokers, management composition by race/sex, and submit a 'diversity philosophy' summary.
- Trump signed an executive order on March 26 banning 'racially discriminatory DEI activities' in federal contracting, describing such activities as unethical, often illegal, and causing inefficiency and waste.
- The FRTIB is not strictly bound by the Federal Acquisition Regulation because it is a self-funded independent agency receiving no congressional appropriations, meaning the executive order does not technically cover its contracts.
- Despite this technical exemption, the DEI provisions in these contracts go against the spirit and intent of the administration's broader anti-DEI policy agenda.
- Millions of federal employees and retirees, many of whom are conservative and do not support DEI policies, rely on TSP and would prefer their retirement funds be managed based on merit/performance rather than race- or sex-based considerations.
- BlackRock and SSGA/SSIM have a history of using their control over proxy votes to advance left-wing ESG and social policy agendas, as previously flagged by Republican senators.
- There is existing legislative interest (e.g., Sen. Cruz's bill) in prohibiting these asset managers from using federal retirement funds to advance ESG/DEI policies.
Assumptions
- DEI-related reporting requirements (e.g., tracking diversity data or diversity philosophy) constitute 'racially discriminatory DEI activities' rather than neutral transparency/disclosure measures.
- The spirit of Trump's executive order should extend to agencies technically exempt from the FAR, even though the order's text was specifically tailored to amend the FAR.
- Requiring data on minority/women-owned broker usage or diversity philosophy inherently undermines merit-based decision-making rather than being a supplementary disclosure requirement.
- The political/ideological preferences of TSP beneficiaries (assumed to be predominantly conservative) is relevant to whether these contract provisions are appropriate.
- Removing these DEI reporting mandates would not compromise other legitimate goals (e.g., ensuring broker diversity for market access or risk management).