Senate HELP Committee reports Janet Dillon nomination to full Senate after 12-11 vote

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions voted 12-11 to favorably report the nomination of Janet Dillon to serve as director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the PBGC, sending the nomination to the full Senate for consideration.

The vote came after sharply divided statements from committee leaders about the PBGC’s recent operations and about Dillon’s record in both government and the private sector. Supporters said the agency needs reform; opponents said Dillon’s past work shows she would not protect defined‑benefit pensions.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, opened the meeting by saying the committee was meeting to vote on "Ms. Janet Dillon's nomination to serve as the Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the PBGC." He told colleagues that "the PBGC was plagued by severe operational issues costing taxpayers" under the current administration and said the agency had "mismanaged the rollout" of a 2021 pension relief program, including cases where applications contained deceased participants. As an example he cited an overpayment of $127,000,000 to the Central States Pension Fund and said the union managing that fund returned the money. Cassidy also said Republican committee oversight previously prevented what he described as roughly $375 million in wrongful payments.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin said she was "strongly opposed to President Trump's nominee to lead the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, Janet Dillon." Baldwin called attention to a broader retirement crisis and faulted Dillon’s record in the private sector, saying that when Dillon held senior roles at US Airways and JCPenney those organizations pursued actions that Dillon, in Baldwin’s view, helped lead that negatively affected tens of thousands of workers and retirees. Baldwin said she would vote no and urged colleagues to do the same.

The clerk called the roll for the committee vote. Senators who were recorded in the transcript as voting "aye" included Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Susan Collins, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Sen. Roger Marshall, Sen. Tim Scott, Sen. Josh Hawley, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Sen. Jim Banks, Sen. John Hickenlooper's colleague listed as Houston in the roll call, and Sen. Mark Moody. Several senators were recorded as voting "no" or "no by proxy," including Sen. Bernie Sanders (no by proxy), Sen. Patty Murray (no by proxy), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (no), Sen. Chris Murphy (no by proxy), Sen. Tim Kaine (no by proxy), Sen. Maggie Hassan (no), and a series of other senators recorded as "no by proxy." At the end of the roll call, Chairman Cassidy announced, "I have 12 ayes, 11 nays." The chairman said, "The ayes have it. The motion is agreed to. The nomination will be favorably reported to the Senate." The committee then adjourned.

The nomination now moves to the full Senate for consideration. The committee debate focused on operational problems at PBGC described by the chairman and on concerns raised by the ranking member’s office about Dillon’s prior corporate roles; no committee action imposing conditions or additional oversight requirements was recorded during the meeting.