Why it Matters
Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee pressed Catherine Eschbach on her record at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) at her Nov. 10 nomination hearing. The hearing put an administration nominee for the agency's top litigation job on the record about disparate impact cases, gender identity charges and the closure of federal contractor cases.
Catherine Eschbach, Acting General Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, told the panel her priorities follow the president's "merit-based civil rights agenda." The hearing split along that line: Democrats questioned the agency's direction, and she often said she could not speak to prior decisions.
The Big Picture
Eschbach is the acting general counsel and principal deputy general counsel. Her nomination for a four-year term as general counsel was referred to the committee Sept. 14.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the chair, noted the commissioner-pairing custom does not apply to a general counsel. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) objected at the hearing that a third Republican commissioner without a Democratic pairing was "an overtly partisan decision," a point that concerned the commissioner seat, not the general counsel post.
What They're Saying
Baldwin opened by calling the hearing "essentially a job interview" and the EEOC's record "abysmal." She asked what legal authority the EEOC used in a settlement with the Christian Employers Alliance. Eschbach said the Department of Justice entered that settlement and she would "defer any comment on that."
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) asked whether anyone assessed the merits of disparate impact cases before they were closed. Eschbach said an executive order predated her time and "I simply can't speak to that one way or another." Kaine said: "I think you pledge fidelity to the law." She responded that she would "uphold the law and the Constitution."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) asked why she did not notify complainants when she became director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs in March 2025. Eschbach said she understood the agency had notified them, citing testimony by the then secretary.
The sharpest exchange came from Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE). She asked about an EEOC employee who reports to Eschbach and who, she said, was suspended after a university Title IX investigation. Eschbach pointed to the employee's Virginia bar admission. Rochester said, "We disagree on this point."
Political Stakes
Bloomberg Law's analysis said the Senate's changing balance makes the nomination's fate uncertain. If she is not confirmed in the lame-duck session, it said, President Trump could renominate her in 2027, when the Senate would be under Democratic control.
The Bottom Line
For now, Eschbach's nomination remains pending before the committee. Cassidy said questions for the record are due at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. The next step is committee action on the nomination, then the Senate.
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