Texas Judge Vacates DOL Fiduciary Rule

A federal judge in Texas officially closed the book on former President Joe Biden’s fiduciary rule by granting an unopposed motion to vacate the rule.

The ruling in Federation of Americans for Consumer Choice Inc. et al. v. United States Department of Labor et al. in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, followed the Department of Labor’s earlier decision to no longer defend the rule in court.

A separate federal court in Texas will likely similarly order the rule vacated in the coming days in a parallel case in which an unopposed motion to vacate has also been filed.

In April 2024, the Biden administration finalized the Retirement Security Rule, setting a new fiduciary standard that expanded fiduciary obligations under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to include professionals providing one-time professional retirement investment advice. This included recommendations on rollovers, annuity purchases and plan menu design.

The rule was originally set to take effect in September 2024, but its implementation was halted in July 2024, when two federal judges issued separate orders granting preliminary injunctions, effectively pausing the rule.

After President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the rule’s fate was essentially solidified. Trump’s DOL quickly moved to stop defending the rule, and the DOL’s regulatory agenda indicated that the Trump administration intends to finalize a new rule by May, although no proposal has yet been published.

The DOL agenda did not offer specifics, but stated that the forthcoming regulation will be grounded in a strict interpretation of the statute and will align with an executive order promoting deregulation.