The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted Dec. 13 to approve the nomination of Preston Rutledge to be Assistant Secretary of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration.
The focus now shifts to the Senate floor. A vote on Rutledge’s nomination by the full Senate has not yet been scheduled.
Rutledge previously served as senior tax and benefits counsel on the Majority Tax Staff of the Senate Finance Committee, where his responsibilities included employee benefits, retirement issues, tax-exempt organizations, health tax issues, and the tax provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
Previously he served as a senior tax law specialist on the Headquarters Staff of the IRS’ Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division and as a senior technical reviewer in the Qualified Pension Plans Branch of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel. During his tenure there, he was the recipient of an Office of Chief Counsel National Award.
Rutledge also served as a law clerk on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and worked in private law practice as an employee benefits counselor and ERISA litigator. He earned a B.S. in business, cum laude, from the University of Idaho; J.D., with high honors, from the George Washington University School of Law; and an L.L.M. in taxation, with distinction, including a certificate in employee benefits law, from the Georgetown University Law Center.
If approved by the full Senate, Rutledge will replace former Assistant Secretary Phyllis Borzi, who served for eight years in the Obama administration. As EBSA assistant secretary, one of the top items on Rutledge’s agenda will be overseeing the implementation of, and any potential changes to, the fiduciary rule.
