Trump Signs Order Pausing DOL Rule; Reaction Swift

UPDATE: President Trump fails to order delay at the last minute

President Donald J. Trump has signed an executive order delaying the Department of Labor fiduciary rule.

Additionally, the president ordered a review of the 2010 Dodd-Frank legislation that tightened regulation of banks and the financial services industry.

Introduced in 2015 and published last year, the fiduciary rule imposes a fiduciary standard of care on financial advisors dealing with retirement accounts, are necessary to protect retirement investors from high commissions.

It was slated to begin taking effect April 10. Full story on the Trump directive here.

The White House released the following tweet and photo of the executive order signing. Interestingly, Reps. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and Ann Wagner, R-Mo., stand between Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Could this be a clue to long-term strategy?

Hensarling and Wagner are the primary backers of the Financial CHOICE Act that passed (in September) the House Financial Services Committee that Hensarling chairs. That legislation could permanently kill the fiduciary rule, as well as Dodd-Frank.

Remarks by President Trump at Signing of Executive Order on Fiduciary Rule: https://t.co/kMRFhlXlHe pic.twitter.com/CKiU61iBqh

— President Trump 45 Archived (@POTUS45) February 3, 2017

Reactions were swift from all sides on Twitter. A few selected comments:

Former Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, the primary architect of the rule during the Obama administration, predictably isn't happy.

Plain and simple: Donald Trump is ripping $17B a year away from
families and putting it in the hands of Wall Street.https://t.co/sPeVq7vRxu

— Tom Perez (@TomPerez) February 3, 2017

But House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is very pleased. Ryan was the highest-ranking lawmaker to come out in opposition to the DOL rule last summer.

President Trump’s action to delay the #fiduciary rule is a wise one. It’s Obamacare for financial planning. https://t.co/IHaPPe30Si

— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) February 3, 2017

The fee-only world is also disappointed. The Financial Planning Association responded with a statement.

FPA @CFPBoard @NAPFA statement as Financial Planning Coalition on Trump’s directive on @USDOL #fiduciary rule https://t.co/X7k5qwHkWl pic.twitter.com/lnqkpZup1G

— Financial Planning Association (FPA) (@fpassociation) February 3, 2017

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.