WASHINGTON–The Department of Justice, which is representing the Trump administration and NCUA in the lawsuit over the firing of two agency board members—filed a court brief on Friday arguing there is no statutory language restricting the president’s at-will removal power.
As the CU Daily has reported, Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka were fired by President Trump in April, and filed a lawsuit several weeks later challenging the dismissals. They were briefly returned to the board in time for the July board meeting, but an appeals court issued a stay, removing them from the board again.
Harper and Ostuka have argued that the Federal Credit Union Act does not allow the president to remove board members.
In the most recent filing, the Justice Department, using arguments similar to those in previous filings in the lower court, the government claims Congress must use explicit language to restrict the president’s authority to remove executive officers, and no such language exists in the statute governing the NCUA, according to America’s Credit Unions.
Harper and Otsuka’s reply brief is due Oct. 3, and the government’s subsequent reply is due Oct. 17. Oral argument has yet to be scheduled. In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals granted the administration’s request to keep both off the board until the litigation is resolved, America’s Credit Unions stated.
The board is set to meet this Thursday with only Chairman Kyle Hauptman present. The lone item on the agenda is an update on the NCUSIF.
