The old adage of “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” appears to apply to President Biden’s nominee to lead the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).
For the second time in less than two months, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved the nomination of Lisa Gomez to serve as Assistant Secretary for EBSA at the Department of Labor. The Committee voted Jan. 13 on a near-party line vote of 12-9, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) the only Republican to vote in favor of Gomez’s nomination. 
The Committee had approved Gomez in early December, but her nomination was not considered by the full Senate before the chamber adjourned for the year.
Under Senate rules, nominations not confirmed by the end of a legislative session are not allowed to carry over to the next session and must be resubmitted. In many cases that rule is waived, but that was not the case for Gomez.
So, while it appeared that her nomination was in jeopardy, President Biden resubmitted her nomination on Jan. 4. Gomez still faces some hurdles, however, as she must be considered and approved by the full Senate.
Gomez has been waiting for quite some time. She was initially nominated in July 2021, but the HELP Committee did not hold a hearing until October. Following that hearing, her nomination was held up because Republican members wanted to dig deeper into her views on environmental, social and corporate governance investing.
Gomez currently is a partner at labor law firm Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP, representing employer and union pension plans. She joined the firm in 1994, became a partner in 2002 and currently serves as Chair of the firm’s Management Committee.
If Gomez is confirmed by the Senate, she would replace Ali Khawar, who has been serving as Acting Assistant Secretary for the EBSA and would remain as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary. Some of the key items that remain on EBSA’s regulatory agenda include:
- a forthcoming proposal revisiting the definition of fiduciary, along with potential additional changes to the existing prohibited transaction exemptions;
- finalizing a proposed rule on “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights” in relation to ESG considerations and proxy voting;
- issuing potential additional guidance in relation to pooled employer plans under the SECURE Act;
- finalizing guidance in relation to the SECURE Act and related revisions to the Form 5500 annual reporting requirements; and
- issuing a final rule under the SECURE Act addressing lifetime income illustrations.
