EEOC nominee Andrea Lucas defends record, draws questions on independence and case dismissals

Andrea Lucas, President Trump’s nominee for another term as a commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, told the Senate HELP Committee she has worked to “advance equal employment opportunity” and defended the commission’s work while repeatedly noting that the EEOC is an executive-branch agency that must follow lawful presidential directives.

Lucas pointed to the agency’s recovery for workers under her leadership and said prevention of discrimination is central to the EEOC’s work. “Protecting workers starts first with preventing discrimination,” she said, and described support for “robust, high-quality enforcement work” while emphasizing prevention and technical assistance.

Much of the hearing focused on recent agency decisions to dismiss cases involving gender identity and to revise or narrow regulatory guidance. Senator Patty Murray and others raised specific cases in which the commission, during Lucas’s acting chairmanship, dismissed litigation the agency had previously supported; Lucas said those dismissals were made in consultation with career staff and were driven by a need to comply with executive orders and the law. She said the agency had to balance obligations under an executive order and its duty to the workers and that, in at least one instance, workers were given an opportunity to intervene and pursue claims independently.

Senators asked about several statutes and precedents, including the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), and the Supreme Court’s Bostock decision. Lucas said she enforces GINA and that the EEOC needs better education efforts on genetic information; she said Bostock is binding precedent and that the EEOC’s technical assistance documents are being updated to reflect recent Supreme Court rulings.

Senators pressed Lucas on whether the EEOC is independent; she repeatedly answered that it is an executive-branch agency that reports to the president and that she takes directives from the president when lawful. Multiple senators warned that that posture risks the agency’s credibility and impartiality. Lucas said she was following legal obligations and executive orders while the agency operates without a quorum, and that some actions are constrained until a full commission exists.

Lucas also described recoveries for workers and national-origin discrimination enforcement, and she said the agency has recovered nearly $7 million in recent matters and won a $1.4 million recovery during her tenure as acting chair. She urged technical assistance and clarifications of rights for employers and employees, and said the agency’s doors remain open to all charging parties.

Senators from both parties pressed Lucas on whether the EEOC under her leadership will continue litigation in specific high-profile cases and whether the agency’s internal coding of gender-identity charges deprioritizes certain claims; Lucas declined to discuss internal deliberations or investigative processes protected by Title VII confidentiality and deliberative privileges.

The committee did not vote on the nomination; senators submitted multiple letters for the record and indicated they will pose additional questions in writing.