State of The Nation

Trump's DOGE Agency Launch Coincides with Push Against Stakeholder Capitalism and ESG The Trump administration's newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) launches amid both legal challenges and growing pushback against stakeholder capitalism, according to watchdog group OpenTheBooks and former CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder. The agency, created through executive order on January 20, 2025, faces three lawsuits filed before Trump's inauguration ceremony concluded. However, the administration aims to circumvent these challenges by repurposing the Obama-era U.S. Digital Services office, housing DOGE within the Executive Office of the President. The launch comes as major financial institutions appear to be retreating from controversial Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives. BlackRock, which along with State Street and Vanguard controls voting rights in about 80% of S&P 500 companies, recently withdrew from the Net Zero Asset Managers In...

National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Vaccine Makers Face Growing Pressure Over Injury Claims as New Development Continues Global pharmaceutical companies are encountering increased scrutiny over vaccine injury compensation even as they push forward with next-generation COVID-19 vaccine development. Recent data shows manufacturers have approved less than 1% of injury claims while reporting record profits from vaccine sales. In the United States, the federal Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) has approved only 50 claims out of approximately 13,000 filed, according to government statistics released this month. Meanwhile, Pfizer reported over $81 billion in vaccine-related revenue for 2021 alone. "The current system fails to balance corporate protections with individual rights," says Mae C. Quinn, Professor of Law at Penn State University. Quinn's recent analysis of global vaccine injury programs found that most countries' compensation systems rema...