During Senate Hearing, NCUA Board Nominee IDs 3 Priorities; Is Pressed on Whether There Should be a 3-Person Board

WASHINGTON—During a Senate hearing, NCUA Board Nominee John Crews identified three issues he said he will prioritize if he is confirmed for the job, while generally avoiding answering when pressed by one Democrat on whether he believes the NCUA board should have a full complement of three members.

As has become the case with most hearings in Congress, much of the 90-minute hearing revealed the strong partisanship in Congress, with questions aimed at either supporting or opposing Trump administration policies, such as the war in Iran. Most of the senators’ questions were directed at the other nominees testifying, but several did direct questions to Crews.

Crews is the assistant secretary for financial institutions policy in the Treasury department. Crews was appointed to the position in mid-2025 and has a long history in Washington. Prior to joining the Treasury Department, he served as a policy advisor to Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), where he covered economic and financial services policy, and prior to that was the policy director of the Senate Banking Committee. 

During the first Trump Administration, Crews has served on the National Economic Council as a special assistant to the President for Economic Policy. 

Scott: Strong Role for Credit Unions

Prior to testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs by the three nominees (besides Crews, the hearing also included Dr. Christopher Phelan to be chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Jeffrey Ledbetter to be Inspector General at HUD), Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said, “Mr. Crews, your nomination to the National Credit Union Administration also matters for everyday Americans. Credit unions help families, workers and small businesses save, grow, and buy a car, start a business and handle the unexpected costs that life throws your way. 

“When the credit union system is strong and competitive, Americans have more choices and better access to affordable financial services. NCUA needs a leader who understands safety and soundness but also knows that unnecessary regulatory burdens can raise costs and limit access,” Scott continued. “Your experience in both Congress and the administration give you a strong understanding of how policy decisions affect credit unions their members and the communities they serve, and I look forward to hearing how you will support a safe and sound federal credit union system that works for everyday Americans.”

Warren Challenges Crews on Board’s Independence

After strongly criticizing the Trump administration for “indifference and gaslighting disguised as economic policy,” said, “Mr. Crews, has been nominated to chair the National Credit Union Administration. Credit unions need a stable and thoughtful regulator, especially as smaller financial institutions work to remain competitive in the face of AI and cryptocurrencies.

“Undermining the board’s independence now at this moment of transition puts the members that credit unions serve at greater risk, and yet when we met, Mr. Crews was so beholden to Trump that he was unwilling even to acknowledge the law or the merits of having a full bipartisan board at the NCUA to support its work.”

As the CU Daily has been reporting, President Trump fired NCUA board members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka in April of 2025, leaving a one-person board in Chairman Kyle Hauptman, the Republican appointee. The fate of the NCUA board currently awaits a Supreme Court decision on the president’s power to fire officials at independent agencies. 

Nominee Cites His Work in Government

Crews, who began his remarks by thanking his wife Jean, and children, Jack and Josie, said his decade and a half of government services has focused almost exclusively on financial services, including almost 10 years either working on the Banking Committee or working with members of the Banking Committee.

“I am proud of the bipartisan work I’ve been able to do throughout my government service and my work on financial regulatory policy has left me with a deep appreciation for the importance of tailoring laws and regulations,” Crews said. “If confirmed, I look forward to working with credit unions to ensure the safety and soundness of the credit union system while also recognizing the uniqueness of their cooperative nature and their unique size…If confirmed, I will endeavor to lead NCUA…I will be thoughtful and steady in my leadership and I will listen to stakeholders in the credit union movement and in the agency to ensure all views are heard as they execute the agency’s strategic agenda.
Three Priorities

Crews identified three policy priorities he will pursue if nominated:

• “First, NCUA must be efficient, effective and risk-based in its supervision. The overwhelming majority of credit unions are quite small, and they need and deserve a regulator that respects their limited resources with an efficient risk-based approach to supervision. That has the added benefit of allowing NCUA to deploy its limited resources to where they are needed most.”
• “Second, NCUA must be ready for technological innovation within the credit union system. The current NCUA chairman, Kyle Hartman, has prioritized analytical innovation at NCUA and within the credit union system. I hope to build and expand on his work. Responsible advancements such as stable coins, AI or otherwise, improved member experiences and provide new pathways to reach the underserved.”
• “Finally, I hope to support de novo chartering of credit unions. I understand that is incredibly challenging to create a new credit union or bank but de novos are a priority for the administration and they are priority for me. New credit unions are a sign of health within the credit union system, and they often reach new underserved communities. We need to do more to support new market entrants.”

Helping Americans Thrive

Crews told the committee in his opening statement that “when credit unions and their members are thriving the American dream is thriving. In 2025, almost 28% of credit union lending was for auto loans. Another 57% of loans were from mortgages and real estate. A first car or a first home are quintessential milestones in the American Dream for many Americans. These milestones are possible because of their local credit union.”

Exchange On Stablecoins, Deposit Flight

In one exchange, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) asked Crews how much deposit flight has occurred at credit unions as the result of funds moving to stablecoins.

“Last year, deposits grew at credit unions,” Crews responded.

Moreno followed up, “But stablecoins were going to destroy the deposit base in America?”

Answered Crews, “I am very concerned about that, but last year deposits grew at credit unions.”

The Decline in Community FIs

Asked about the decline in the number of community-based financial institutions, including credit unions, Crews responded, “I agree it is a serious concern…especially in rural America. As I mentioned in my opening statement it will be a priority of mine to find ways to support that de novo chartering of new credit unions. In my opinion, we’ve seen the downward trend for the last two decades and some of that is competitive. But much of it is a regulatory response. In an effort to weed out too big to fail, we have created another problem, which is too small to succeed.

“At the top of my list when it comes to being an efficient an effective regulator is thinking through how we can tailor our regulations to support the success of our smallest institutions and, in particular, our rural institutions.”

Should NCUA Have a 3-Person Board?

Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) pressed Crews on whether he believes NCUA should have a full, three-person board. The status of the board is the subject of pending litigation, as reported here.

Crews responded by saying he didn’t want to comment on the related litigation currently before the courts, saying he will respect the outcome of any court.

“But doesn’t the law prescribe who should be on the board,” responded Smith. “It prescribes the three-person board and that it be politically balanced. I mean that’s not really a question of litigation. That’s just a question of fact, isn’t it?

Answered Crews, “Yes, the law does prescribe the board makeup, but the current board makeup is the subject of litigation.”

“OK, that’s disappointing,” answered Smith. “I think that even though we may have partisan differences, we can at least agree that it is good to have these boards with the makeup that was prescribed and is agreed to by Congress, and the kind of wholesale refusal of the administration to appoint Democrats as well as Republicans to these boards undermines the credibility of the boards. It undermines your credibility on the board if you’re the only one there. I think that this is a place where injecting politics into issues that actually shouldn’t be political and it should be something that should be pretty easy to answer. So, I think I got your answer.”

Credit Unions, Technology & Risk

Crews was asked by Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) about how NCUA will ensure credit unions are able to provide the most up-to-date technology without also jeopardizing safety and soundness.

“You’re absolutely right to highlight this issue,” said Crews, saying CUs must offer innovative financial services. “When it comes to credit unions, many of them are uniquely small and have limited resources, and because of that they often work together to access some of these services. From my perspective, at NCUA we need to support their efforts to adapt with the economy and with technological innovation. But absolutely, that is a risk factor. Cyber risk is a serious threat.

Crews said that in his current position with Treasury the discussion has centered on the balance needed between encouraging innovation while also providing strong supervision.

Crews indicated that if his nomination is approved, which appears likely, he plans to have an “open door” for discussing the balance of innovation vs. safety and soundness, and he said he plans to build upon a recent cyber-threat report published by the agency.