Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Labor has been quiet following the confirmation of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta late last week. However, House Republicans have already put pressure on the new DOL leader to delay and eventually kill the fiduciary rule, Investment News reports.
- In a letter signed by 124 House Republicans, Acosta is "strongly encouraged" to tackle the issue. The letter calls it an "urgent need" and echoes the concerns of financial trade groups, which claim the rule could limit smaller investors' access to investment advice.
- On his first day, Acosta spoke more on keeping jobs in the U.S. and improving workforce training programs throughout the country. In keeping with his confirmation hearing, he has been tight-lipped on what will happen with the more contentious DOL rules currently in limbo.
Dive Insight:
The fiduciary rule and its even more contentious sibling, the overtime rule, have existed in a state of limbo since around the time of the election. Under an administration keen to roll back a slew of Obama initiatives, many thought their demise imminent.
That may be true for the overtime rule, which has been dying a slow death since a Texas judge brought a preliminary injunction against it in late November last year. But the fiduciary rule may be considerably harder to kill, as a judge recently said the DOL did not overstep its bounds in issuing the rule.
What are you hoping Acosta will do in his first days? Take our one-question survey below.
