Florida’s new Attorney General, James Uthmeier, isn’t wasting any time making his mark—and it’s sending shockwaves through the woke corporate world. In a bold public statement on April 15, 2025, Uthmeier laid down the law: Florida is no place for leftist virtue signaling disguised as corporate policy.
Fresh off his first two months in office, Uthmeier made it crystal clear—Florida is officially closed for woke business.
Targeting radical ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) and DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) initiatives, Uthmeier declared these policies not only dangerous but discriminatory, putting law firms and corporate boardrooms on notice: play politics with taxpayer money, and you’ll answer to Florida.
“If you have a fiduciary duty to the state of Florida, and we’re investing in you, and we’re looking out for the retirement of our state workers,” Uthmeier said, “we’re going to make sure that you get back to the business of doing business. Stay away from some of this dangerous politics.”
Translation? Focus on profits, not pronouns.
Uthmeier, one of the youngest AGs in Florida’s history, isn’t just talking tough—he’s taking action. In his first week on the job, he filed a lawsuit against Target for pushing a transgender clothing line for children—an outrageous move that sparked national backlash. Uthmeier didn’t mince words: “Yes, companies have some free speech rights, but when you are a publicly traded company, you have fiduciary duties to shareholders.”
And he’s right. Target’s woke gamble didn’t just alienate everyday Americans—it cost Florida taxpayers dearly. As Uthmeier noted, “Our state pension fund that provides the retirements for our teachers and first responders took a massive hit when Target decided to engage in this social ideology. They faced a serious backlash and lost over $10 billion in value in ten days.”
Ten. Billion. Dollars. Gone. All for the sake of pandering to a fringe ideology.
But Uthmeier isn’t stopping with Target. He’s putting the entire woke corporate class—and the law firms enabling them—on notice. His office has launched a Corporate Accountability and Oversight Fund with $20 million in resources to ensure that Florida only invests in businesses focused on real value, not left-wing activism.
“We’re gonna hold companies like this accountable,” Uthmeier said. “We’re investing in businesses that are making money for the investors.”
And when it comes to ESG and DEI schemes? Uthmeier is drawing a legal red line. “Many of these policies violate our civil rights laws in Florida,” he said. “They are not reflective of equal justice under the law. In fact, they are discriminatory.”
Law firms pushing these policies have been warned: play partisan politics under the guise of diversity, and Florida will come knocking.
James Uthmeier is proving that Florida isn’t just the Sunshine State—it’s becoming the stronghold of common sense in an era where the left would rather appease radicals than serve working Americans. Under his leadership, Florida is making it clear: if your business prioritizes activism over accountability, there’s the door.
