House Republicans on Wednesday failed to muster the two-thirds majority needed to block the Obama administration’s controversial standards for financial advisers.
The House voted 239-180 to block the fiduciary rule, well more than 40 votes short of the total needed.
Wednesday night’s vote came as Democrats staged a sit-in on the House floor, starting around nearly 12 hours earlier, to push for a vote on legislation to prevent terror suspects from buying guns.
{mosads}House GOP leaders had originally scheduled the vote for earlier in the day, but pushed it back due to Democrats’ sit-in and kept the chamber in recess until calling the vote on the fiduciary rule around 10 p.m.
Throughout the roll call, Democrats continued their protests with chants of “No bill, no break!” and at one point broke into singing “We Shall Overcome” with modified lyrics.
The Labor Department issued the fiduciary rule in April, requiring financial advisers to act in the best interest of their clients who are saving for retirement.
The House and Senate passed a disapproval measure earlier this year blocking the regulation under the Congressional Review Act, but President Obama vetoed it.
Democrats say the rule will protect consumers from bad investment advice, but Republicans argue it could force financial advisers to raise their prices, shutting out lower-income workers.
While the attempt to overturn the rule in Congress has now failed, the Obama administration must still fend off a lawsuit against the fiduciary rule filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several other business groups. That court fight could drag on for months.
Peter Schroeder contributed.