'new Sheriff In Town': State Finance Leader Rallies Around Key Trump Victory Saving 'taxpayer Dollars'

President Donald Trump's executive bid ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs successful nan national authorities has returned financial powerfulness to nan people, OJ Oleka, CEO of nan State Financial Officers Foundation, told Fox News Digital. 

Oleka said there's a "new sheriff successful town" and that Trump is "making good" connected his committedness to destruct DEI by shifting financial policies "away from nan near and backmost to nan center," empowering authorities financial officers and building spot pinch nan American people. 

"We cognize that erstwhile companies attraction connected business, their business does better. If their business does better, shareholders make much money, their labor person a amended value of life wrong their business and their consumers get a amended product," Oleka told Fox News Digital astatine nan State Financial Officers Foundation convention successful Orlando, Florida. 

Oleka said focusing connected financial returns and merit-based incentives complete DEI aliases environmental, societal and governance (ESG) policies creates "more money for shareholders, amended civilization successful nan agency for labor and amended products for consumers and customers," precisely what authorities financial officers person been asking for. 

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Fox News Digital said to State Financial Officers Foundation CEO OJ Oleka successful Orlando, Fla. (Getty/Fox Digital)

"The American group want each individual to succeed," Oleka said. "They want group to win connected their merit, connected their ability, connected their skill. It's very important to america arsenic Americans. But what they don't want is for group to get preferences conscionable because of immoderate governmental ideology." 

He said location are misconceptions astir DEI "because group perceive diversity, equity and inclusion, and they think, ‘Well, those are bully things. I support diversity. I want group to beryllium included, and group should person nan resources that they need.’

"To beryllium very clear, erstwhile we're talking astir DEI, we're saying that DEI is trying to supply group aliases gender preferences for group based connected past grievances. It efficaciously has thing to do pinch merit aliases looking astatine somebody's accomplishment for a occupation aliases for an opportunity." 

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Equal opportunity is giving group entree to create their ain opportunities, to effort to beryllium arsenic successful arsenic they tin beryllium pinch their skills, expertise and merit, according to Oleka. 

Oleka explained that DEI is subjective because it prefers "folks based connected what you deliberation is important, based connected your ain politics."

"It's bad to say, from a company's perspective, 'Let's conscionable prosecute group based connected race, based connected gender,' arsenic opposed to accomplishment and ability," Oleka said.

"It's bad because it tin harm nan capacity of what that institution really does pinch their business responsibilities. That matters to our financial officers because they put successful a batch of these companies. It's their occupation arsenic fiduciary leaders to make judge that nan pensions that they invest, nan nationalist costs that they put by kindness of their positions, are really done truthful by companies and pinch costs wherever nan returns are going to beryllium high.

OJ Oleka, CEO of nan State Financial Officers Foundation, said pinch Fox News Digital astatine nan State Financial Officers Foundation convention successful Orlando, Florida.  (Fox News Digital)

"We can't guarantee that nan returns are going to beryllium arsenic precocious arsenic they tin beryllium if nan companies aren't moreover focusing connected their circumstantial mandate, connected their responsibility. Instead, they're focusing connected their authorities and trying to unit an ideology aliases societal schedule done their businesses. That's not what business is for." 

Oleka said his acquisition arsenic personification pinch a Ph.D. successful higher acquisition who is besides nan boy of Nigerian immigrants informs his rejection of governmental ideology aliases agendas successful government-funded programs, including successful nationalist education, because these policies don't amended students' learning acquisition aliases world performance. 

"That doesn't really lend to kids' learning," Oleka said. "It doesn't lend to quality flourishing. There really is nary logic why people's payer dollars should beryllium spent connected that."

President Donald Trump speaks during an arena connected power accumulation successful nan East Room of nan White House April 8, 2025, successful Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Oleka told Fox News Digital nan Orlando convention was captious to reminding authorities financial officers crossed nan state they are not unsocial successful pushing backmost against DEI and ESG policies that were promoted by erstwhile President Joe Biden's administration. 

"It goes backmost to what I deliberation astir Americans believe. Their authorities government is person to them than nan national government," he said. "As a result, authorities leaders should person much power, arsenic it relates to their finances, than nan national government, and what a authorities leader should do pinch that powerfulness is springiness it backmost to nan people."

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By empowering authorities financial officers to attraction connected financial returns and fiduciary work alternatively of ideology and politics, Oleka said much Americans are incentivized financially. 

"It's important that we person that aforesaid benignant of activity successful nan White House astatine nan authorities level, making bully connected their committedness to bring a Golden Age to America and to each state," he said.