On March 16, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion invalidating the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Fiduciary Rule, which sought to impose extraordinary new fiduciary obligations and burdens on those who sell retirement investment products. The decision was a victory for WLF, which filed a brief in the case arguing that the Rule was unconstitutional. Although it invalidated the Rule without reaching the specific First Amendment concerns WLF raised, the appeals court held that DOL’s novel expansion of the scope of fiduciary responsibilities far exceeded the agency’s statutory authority under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The Fifth Circuit further found that even if ERISA’s statutory text were ambiguous, DOL’s interpretation was so unreasonable that it was not entitled to judicial deference. Because DOL made no argument concerning severability, the court vacated the Rule in its entirety.