Preston Rutledge is expected to be nominated shortly by the White House to serve as assistant secretary of labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, according to sources.
Mr. Rutledge has served as tax and benefits counsel for the Senate Finance Committee since 2011. Before joining the Republican staff, he worked with the Internal Revenue Service's tax exempt and government entities division in Washington. He has also worked in private practice as an employee benefits counselor and litigator.
The EBSA position has been vacant since the departure of Phyllis Borzi in January at the end of the Obama administration. Ms. Borzi oversaw development of the fiduciary rule currently under review by the Department of Labor, which has proposed to extend the transition period.
EBSA oversees 700,000 private-sector retirement plans, and nearly 2.5 million health plans and other welfare benefit plans.
Michael Kreps with Groom Law Group in Washington, who served as the top pension aide to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and worked with Mr. Rutledge on many issues, said, "I have known and worked with Preston for years, and he is a dedicated civil servant that cares a great deal about getting policy right. If he is nominated, I am confident the Senate will move swiftly to confirm him."
