ALEXANDRIA, Va.–The NCUA board meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled following the firings of board members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka by the Trump administration.

NCUA’s board procedure rules require that any board action be approved by at least two board members, but the lone member of the board is now Chairman Kyle Hauptman, a Republican appointee.

Coincidentally, the primary item on the board agenda was discussion of White House-ordered cuts in the agency’s workforce of as much as 20%. NCUA has approximately 1,200 employees. The CU Daily has confirmed some employees have been opting into the deferred resignation program. 

For credit unions, a big question is what will happen to the pace of regulation and enforcement. America’s Credit Unions noted, under the Federal Credit Union Act, without at least two members on the board, the NCUA is unable to implement any new action, but the agency can still perform its supervisory and examination duties.

In response to objections to the firings of the two board members, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Reuters, “President Trump is the chief executive of the executive branch and reserves the right to fire anyone he wants.”