The ongoing and seemingly never-ending saga of Lisa Gomez’s nomination to run the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) finally ended on Thursday.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) announced the confirmation by a vote of 49-36 for Gomez to serve as EBSA Assistant Secretary of Labor.
“It was important to me EBSA [has] an experienced leader like Ms. Gomez given its massive responsibilities helping retirees recover the benefits they are entitled to, enforcing protections for people who get their health care coverage through their job, and overseeing millions of retirement plans, health plans, and other welfare benefit plans,” “Senator Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair, said in a statement. “
Murray has been pushing for months to get Gomez confirmed, most recently when recognizing the anniversary of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
A long road to confirmation
The White House announced in July 2020 that President Biden chose Gomez for the post, following Preston Rutledge, the last Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary, and, following Rutledge’s departure, Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson and Ali Khawar, who were acting assistant secretaries.
However, because the Senate failed to act before Congress adjourned last December, the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee HELP had to reapprove the Gomez nomination before sending it for full confirmation, according to the National Association of Plan Advisors.
“From her background, [Gomez] is eminently qualified,” Rutledge explained in an interview at the NAPA 401(k) Summit in early April. “The EBSA position has always been senior-level, but something noncontroversial enough in the past. You put the nomination together with maybe two dozen other nominations in a unanimous consent motion in December or July. That’s how I got through.”
He added that Gomez was on the list for December, “but all it takes is for one senator to object, and it’s not going to happen. It doesn’t mean the person can’t be confirmed; they have to have a floor vote.”
An indication of the atmosphere in Washington, polarizing topics like ESG encourage politicians to block nominees, which Rutledge said is often the only tool available to minority members.
“It’s not about her or her qualifications; it’s just the nature of the beast.”
Gomez is a partner with New York City-based law firm Cohen, Weiss, and Simon LLP and the Firm’s Management Committee Chair.