WASHINGTON–The Trump Administration has declined to respond to a Supreme Court petition by the two Democratic NCUA board members who were fired by the Trump administration and who are asking for the court to consider their case, according to the law firm Ballard Spahr.
“The Government hereby waives its right to file a response to the petition in this case, unless requested to do so by the Court,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the Supreme Court, according to the Consumer Finance Monitor site published by the firm.
The Supreme Court is expected to decide later in November which cases it will hear. Otsuka and Harper have filed a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment, asking asked the Supreme Court to consider their firings on an expedited basis.
As the CU Daily was the first to report, Harper and Otsuka were fired by President Trump in April. Within weeks they filed suit, arguing their firings were illegal under the Federal Credit Union Act, even though, as Ballard Spahr noted, the FCU Act does not state that members of the agency board may only be removed for cause. The two former board members spoke with the CU Daily at length here about the case.
Argument Against One-Person Board
Harper and Otuska have also argued that a one-person board member—Republican appointee Kyle Hauptman, serving as chairman, is currently alone on the board—does not quality as a quorum. NCUA and the administration have responded that a one-person board is permitted and does qualify as a quorum.
Harper and Otsuka have asked the court to consider their case when the court considers a case in which Rebecca Slaughter is challenging her firing by Trump from the FTC. The court has agreed to hear that case, with oral arguments scheduled for Dec. 8.
Winding Through the Courts
As Ballard Spahr noted and as the CU Daily has been reporting, the litigation has been winding through the courts:
- Harper and Otsuka sued in the District Court for the District of Columbia, which ruled in their favor, issued a permanent injunction ordering their reinstatement, and declined to stay that order.
- The Trump administration then sought an emergency stay and a stay pending appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and told the Court of Appeals that federal law did not provide the ousted NCUA board members with protection from firing.
- A panel of three judges granted the administration’s request for an emergency stay, then granted the request for a stay pending appeal, and then later issued an order holding the case in abeyance pending the decision of the Supreme Court in the Slaughter case.
- In response, Otsuka and Harper filed a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment, asking asked the Supreme Court to consider their firings on an expedited basis.
A ruling in the Slaughter case is not expected until mid-2026.
