High-profile Senate defeats for two of President Joe Biden’s picks for top US Labor Department posts haven’t stopped those agencies from making substantive moves on progressive regulatory actions—in fact, they’re quickly proceeding.
The US Senate failed to confirm Lisa Gomez to serve as head of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration June 8, after Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) switched her stance following two “yes” votes in committee. Though the vote is likely a temporary setback, it follows the defeat of David Weil, Biden’s nominee for the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, earlier this year.
Still, the Labor Department’s employee benefits and wage-focused agencies are cruising forward with rulemakings on the inclusion of environmental, social, and governmental factors in retirement investing, worker classification, and other proposals.
Gomez is no stranger to setbacks in the confirmation process. Her first committee vote was delayed by Republican opposition to a proposed employee benefits agency rule easing restrictions on do-good retirement investing—one of several regulations the agency is moving ahead on, regardless of the leadership vacancy.
“That’s the frustration that industry is having with this process,” said Chantel Sheaks, vice president of retirement policy at the US Chamber of Commerce. “You’re holding against...
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