Vermont Democratic Rep. Becca Balint took a former Trump administration official to task on Tuesday after the Republican “climate and energy strategist” brought up the issue of transgender rights during a House Oversight Committee hearing. The panel was hearing about the effects of ESG, a framework otherwise known as environmental, social and governance that assesses a business’ long-term viability based on its sustainability and style of corporate governance. ESG is the latest victim of the culture wars, with many Republicans denouncing the practice as ‘woke’ ideology. Questioning Mandy Gunasekara–a former Trump Administration official at the Environmental Protection Agency—over her false claims that ESG promotes gender transition for children, Balint—the first woman and openly gay lawmaker to represent Vermont—clearly had enough. “I want to know, do you really believe that garbage?” Gunasekara answered it was a “matter of fact” and that “I’m not the one beating up children,” leading an astounded Balint to take her to task, adding: “It feels like every single hearing that I am in, whether it is in Oversight, or whether it is in Budget, or whether it is in a subcommittee, somehow the witnesses find a way to bring in trans children into whatever conversation we’re trying to have here.”
