“Plaintiffs’ Motion details the multiple ways in which the 2024 Fiduciary Rule runs afoul of the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Chamber of Commerce of United States of Am. v. United States Dep’t of Labor, 885 F.3d 360, 388 (5th Cir. 2018). Unable to mount a credible argument to the contrary, the DOL’s response (“Response”) [Doc. 20] instead (1) ignores or mischaracterizes key aspects of Fifth Circuit’s ruling and (2) puts forward a series of irrelevant and strawman arguments in an effort to divert the Court’s attention. Despite its repeated insistence that the new rule is consistent with Chamber of Commerce, the DOL is ultimately arguing, both implicitly and explicitly, that the Fifth Circuit’s decision was wrong. However, neither the DOL nor the Court
may ignore Chamber of Commerce’s binding determination as to what Congress intended when it used the term fiduciary in ERISA. Because the 2024 Fiduciary Rule and amended PTE 84-24, like the 2016 Fiduciary Rule, are fundamentally inconsistent with the meaning of that term as explained by the Fifth Circuit, they must be vacated.”