Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton just scored a powerful victory in his legal war against the ESG cartel.
On Thursday, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas delivered a stunning blow to Wall Street giants BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street by refusing to dismiss Texas’s antitrust lawsuit against them — a case Paxton says exposes an “investment cartel” that conspired to strangle the American energy market.
“BREAKING: I just secured a major win against BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street,” Paxton wrote.
“These financial corporations created an investment cartel to illegally control national energy markets, and today’s victory represents an important step in holding them accountable.”
The case alleges that the three financial titans — who control trillions of dollars in assets — used their dominant stakes in nearly every major publicly traded U.S. coal company to push radical ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) policies.
The result, according to Paxton and 13 other Republican-led states, was a calculated effort to suppress coal production, jack up prices, and manipulate U.S. energy markets — all under the false flag of “climate stewardship.”
The ruling outlines how BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street allegedly:
- Joined global climate initiatives (Net Zero Asset Managers and Climate Action 100+).
- Publicly committed to reducing coal emissions—knowing this would mean reducing coal production.
- Used their shares to vote against coal company directors who didn’t fall in line with ESG goals.
- Worked in “conscious parallelism” to push a coordinated anti-coal agenda.
“Therefore, all Defendants publicly joined climate initiatives promoting goals that naturally resulted in the reduction of coal output. These allegations alone are strong evidence of a conscious commitment to a common scheme designed to achieve an unlawful objective. Second, all Defendants confirmed these climate-based goals through public statements. And all used their influence to act in furtherance of the climate-based initiatives by either proxy voting or engaging directly with the Coal Companies’ leadership, or both,” the judge wrote.
According to the press release:
Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a major victory against BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard for conspiring to artificially manipulate the coal market through anticompetitive trade practices. A federal district court judge has denied the asset managers’ motion to dismiss—allowing the litigation to continue under Texas and federal antitrust laws, as well as Texas’s consumer protection laws.
“BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard—three of the most powerful financial corporations in the world—created an investment cartel to illegally control national energy markets and squeeze more money out of hardworking Americans,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Today’s victory represents a major step in holding them accountable. I will continue fighting to protect Texas and defend America’s energy independence from this unlawful conspiracy.”
In November 2024, Attorney General Paxton sued the asset managers for using their combined influence over the coal market to weaponize their shares to pressure the coal companies to accommodate “green energy” goals by halving coal output by 2030. The deliberate and artificial supply reduction increased prices and enabled the investment companies to produce extraordinary revenue gains by increasing the cost of electricity for American households. Their conspiracy violated multiple state and federal laws forbidding anticompetitive schemes and deceptive trade practices. In May 2025, the Trump Administration took legal action supporting Attorney General Paxton’s efforts to hold the asset managers accountable.
To read the ruling, click here.
BREAKING: I just secured a major win against Blackrock, Vanguard, and State Street.
These financial corporations created an investment cartel to illegally control national energy markets, and today’s victory represents an important step in holding them accountable. pic.twitter.com/ggGMFUzux6
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) August 1, 2025
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