NEWS RELEASE
Kobach Secures Landmark Victory: Vanguard Agrees to Sweeping Reforms in ESG Lawsuit
TOPEKA – (February 26, 2026) – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach today announced a groundbreaking settlement with The Vanguard Group, Inc. (“Vanguard”) as part of the multistate lawsuit against major asset managers BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard. This agreement delivers the strongest investor protections in the industry, empowers everyday Kansans and investors with real proxy voting choice, and strikes a major blow against coordinated ESG schemes that have driven up coal costs and electricity prices.
“Kansas played a key role in forcing Vanguard to step up and lead by putting investors and American energy first,” Kobach said. “This settlement shatters the precedent for big asset managers pushing radical agendas over profits and affordability. Vanguard has now committed to real change—empowering investors and rejecting coercive ESG tactics. But the fight continues: BlackRock and State Street remain defiant, ignoring state laws and harming Kansas energy independence. We will not stop until every American family enjoys lower electricity costs and our coal industry thrives without Wall Street interference.”
Kansas joined the lawsuit to combat a BlackRock-orchestrated effort to artificially suppress coal production under the banner of “green energy.” The lawsuit was designed to inflate profits for Wall Street giants while burdening Kansas families, farmers, and businesses with higher energy bills. These actions deceived investors in non-ESG funds and undermined America’s reliable energy supply. The Trump Administration’s Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission previously filed a joint statement of interest supporting the states’ case.
Under the settlement terms secured by the multistate coalition: Vanguard has agreed to strict passivity commitments, which prohibit Vanguard from using shareholdings to dictate portfolio companies’ strategies, threaten divestment to force compliance, or nominate directors and push shareholder proposals aligned with ESG over profitability.
Vanguard will empower investors by offering proxy voting rights in funds representing at least 50% of U.S. equity assets under management. The concession is a first-of-its-kind reform that allows Kansas investors and consumers to directly influence whether companies prioritize profits or political goals.
Vanguard will pay $29.5 million to the participating states, including Kansas, to support enforcement and consumer relief efforts.
This landmark action resets expectations for institutional investors nationwide, protects Kansas’s vital energy sector, and safeguards affordable electricity for hardworking Kansans.
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