WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is allowing to go forward an Obama-era rule that puts stricter requirements on professionals who advise retirement savers on their investments. But it's leaving open the possibility that deep changes to the rule will still be made.

Wall Street and Republican lawmakers have been pushing against the so-called "fiduciary" rule, which requires that financial pros who charge commissions put their clients' best interests first when advising them on retirement investments. President Donald Trump in February told the Labor Department to delay implementing the rule, due to be phased in starting June 9.

But Trump's new labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, said Tuesday the department has decided not to delay the rule while it seeks public input on how to change it.

"Respect for the rule of law leads us to the conclusion that this (June 9) date cannot be postponed," Acosta wrote in an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal. "Trust in Americans' ability to decide what is best for them and their families leads us to the conclusion that we should seek public comment on how to revise this rule."

Americans have about $14 trillion in retirement savings — in 401(k) retirement accounts, other defined-contribution plans such as federal employees' plans and in IRAs. Supporters of the fiduciary rule see it as key to guaranteeing the integrity of the advice they get on where to invest it. The aim of the rule, put in by the Obama administration about a year ago, was to prevent financial advisers from steering clients toward investments with higher commissions and fees that can chip away at retirement savings.

The financial industry, on the other hand, has argued that the rule would limit retirees' investment choices by forcing advisers to steer them to low-risk options.

Consumer advocates greeted Acosta's announcement, which appeared as a departure from a string of moves in recent months by the administration and Republican lawmakers to ease regulations.

The move was "a great victory for Americans saving for retirement," said Dennis Kelleher, the president of Better Markets, a group that advocates for stricter regulation. "That means the Trump (Labor Department) will now have to properly draft, propose and, if appropriate, finalize a different rule after allowing for full public input and participation."

Undoing the fiduciary rule was part of a promised assault by Trump on financial rules put in by President Barack Obama and Democratic lawmakers after the 2008-09 crisis and Great Recession. Trump ordered a government review of the Dodd-Frank financial oversight law, which he has called a "disaster."

Major Republican legislation to unwind the Dodd-Frank law, now pointed toward a vote by the U.S. House, would repeal the Labor Department rule. It would not be replaced until the Securities and Exchange Commission came up with a separate rule for all investments, not just retirement assets, prescribing standards for brokers and advisers — and it would have to be close to the SEC's rule. The SEC may be expected to take a friendlier approach to the financial industry than the Labor Department.

Acosta concluded his op-ed by saying the Labor Department "will roll back regulations that harm American workers and families. We will do so while respecting the principles and institutions that make America strong."

The son of Cuban immigrants, Acosta has been a federal prosecutor, a civil rights chief at the Justice Department and a member of the National Labor Relations Board. He arrived in the Labor post only last month, with relatively little clear record on some of the key pocketbook issues facing the Trump administration. Trump named him to the job after his first choice, former fast food CEO Andrew Puzder, withdrew his name from consideration on the eve of his Senate confirmation vote.