Democratic senators press Trump on decision to replace PBGC head

The ranking members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and the Senate Committee on Finance asked President Donald Trump to explain his decision to replace the director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

In a letter sent Thursday, Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Ron Wyden of Oregon said they are "seeking to understand" why he wants to replace W. Thomas Reeder Jr. in the middle of his five-year term.

To replace him, Mr. Trump nominated Gordon Hartogensis, "who seems to have little to no prior experience relevant to the pension system and the work of the PBGC.

"In light of your administration's pattern of politically motivated and ethically questionable personnel decisions, the decision to replace Mr. Reeder, who has decades of experience working on pensions and other employee benefit issues, raises serious concerns. We are troubled by this unexpected and seemingly unnecessary change in the agency's leadership, particularly as the country faces a multiemployer pension crisis," the senators wrote.