House Oversight probes whether American retirees' pension funds are being weaponized: 'Progressive playbook'

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FIRST ON FOX: The House Oversight Committee is setting its sights on insurance companies that may have discriminated against entities with right-wing views.

The committee is also looking into whether retirees' pension accounts were being used to invest in progressive policies they may not necessarily agree with, Fox News Digital has learned.

"The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating improper restrictions on access to capital and capital markets of individuals and entities based on political viewpoints or involvement in certain industries (such as cryptocurrency, energy, and firearms)," Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., wrote to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

"The Committee has engaged with whistleblowers who had their insurance policies cancelled for widely-held political positions or for operating legal businesses considered out of favor by progressive activists."

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The move is an expansion of the House Oversight Committee's ongoing investigation into whether public financial institutions engaged in debanking against people and entities with right-wing views.

Comer is also probing whether companies implementing progressive policies are doing so at the expense of millions of retired Americans' personal investments.

He wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in his capacity as acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), that his panel "is investigating the prolific use of proxy proposals and other activism targeting corporate boards of directors by activists pursuing political agendas at the expense of the retirement and personal savings of Americans."

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"Specifically, the Committee seeks to understand how giant investment managers and pension fund managers, aided by proxy advisory firms, sidestepped or abandoned their fiduciary duties to beneficiaries to pursue a political agenda and whether new legislation is needed to protect investors," Comer stated.

"At a minimum, Americans deserve to fully know if their hard-earned savings are being used in a progressive playbook."

The letter accused certain large asset management firms like BlackRock of putting clients' money into green energy initiatives, for example, rather than more profitable areas, in order to promote a left-wing agenda.

BlackRock pushed back on such accusations in a public statement on its website, however.

"One of the most critical tasks of an asset manager is to provide clients with insights on short- and long-term trends in the global economy that can impact their portfolios. We do this across all sectors - from healthcare to technology to energy," the company wrote.

"Climate risk is one such trend given its implications for the economy. We believe that companies that better manage their exposure to climate risk and capitalize on opportunities will generate better long term financial outcomes."

BlackRock's website also asserted that the "choice of where to invest ultimately rests with our clients."

"We are bound to adhere to their investment guidelines and objectives. We do not dictate particular investment strategies," it said.

And on a broader scale, the committee looking into whether publicly-traded companies are running afoul of President Donald Trump's executive order outlawing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices by simply listing it under another name.

"[T]he Committee remains concerned following reports of publicly traded companies intentionally camouflaging or rebranding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies to hide such discrimination from "the Trump Administration, courts or influential activists,'" Comer wrote to several organizations opposing corporate discrimination, including the Alliance Defending Freedom. 

"At minimum, shareholders and retirement plan beneficiaries deserve transparency around discriminatory practices employed by corporate directors and officers as such behavior is rebranded. Replacing DEI and ESG titles with 'employee engagement' or 'inclusion and impact' represents yet another deceptive practice."

Trump's order, signed in January 2025, barred financial institutions, major corporations, colleges and universities, law enforcement agencies and specific industries like medicine and commercial airlines from promoting or implementing DEI standards.

Comer accused the previous White House of promoting discriminatory practices, however, in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"The Oversight Committee is investigating discriminatory practices in the American financial system and the Biden Administration's role in supporting them," he wrote. "Whether it is using the boardroom to achieve what the political left could not accomplish at the ballot box, or canceling Americans' insurance policies and debanking them for their political views, these actions are wrong and deprive Americans of their constitutional rights."

Fox News Digital reached out to the IRS and NAIC for comment but did not immediately hear back.