President Donald Trump has nominated Janet Dhillon to lead the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
Dhillon, who served as chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from May 2019 to January 2021 during Trump’s first term, was nominated to a five-year term as the PBGC’s director, the White House announced March 11.
If confirmed, Dhillon would replace Gordon Hartogensis, whose term as director ended in April. Ann Orr has been leading the agency as acting director since May.
President Joe Biden in July nominated Deva A. Kyle, of counsel for law firm Cohen, Weiss and Simon, to lead the agency but Senate Republicans blocked her nomination after Trump’s victory. Biden withdrew the nomination in November.
Dhillon’s nomination was referred jointly to the Senate Finance and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees.
The main project at the PBGC in recent years has been the Special Financial Assistance Program, which was created by the American Rescue Plan Act that Democrats passed in 2021 and is designed to shore up struggling multiemployer pension plans through 2051. To date, the PBGC had approved about $70.9 billion in SFA to plans that cover about 1.3 million workers, retirees and beneficiaries.
Congressional Republicans have criticized the SFA Program’s implementation over the years. Specifically, the Teamsters Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund, Chicago, in April had to return a $127 million SFA overpayment it had received. The pension fund, which had $42.1 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, 2023, was awarded $36 billion in SFA funds in 2022.
