WASHINGTON–The ongoing litigation around the firings of two NCUA board members by President Trump raises a potentially intriguing possibility about the make-up of a future NCUA board—it could include a representative from a party other than Republican or Democrat.
Should the Supreme Court uphold the firings of Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka, and given the expiration of Chairman Kyle Hauptman’s term on Aug. 2 (he is likely to continue to serve as a holdover), the president could nominate three new board members. Two would certainly be Republicans, but the Federal Credit Union Act does not stipulate what party the third person must represent, just that he or she cannot be from the same party as the other two.
The third person, said Carrie Hunt, chief advocacy officer with America’s Credit Unions, could be an independent, for instance, or a member of the Green Party.
Greg Mesack, senior vice president of government affairs with America’s Credit Unions, said there has been a rumor among Washington’s pundits that the president could nominate a member of the Libertarian Party to join with the two Republicans on the NCUA board.
But as Hunt reminded, nominations are one thing, getting Senate confirmation is another.
Who’s Most Disruptive?
“I’m not sure who would be more obstructive, a Libertarian or Democrat, honestly, but with the Senate confirming nominations I’m not sure the juice is worth the squeeze for the administration,” Hunt said.
Should Hauptman opt to leave for any reason, leaving NCUA with no board members, Hunt said the administration would likely turn to someone serving at another agency who has already been confirmed by the Senate to serve on the agency’s board.
