ALEXANDRIA, Va.—NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman said Wednesday the agency is moving quickly to finalize its major internal reorganization, emphasizing that the shift is designed to fundamentally reshape how the regulator operates—not simply to do the same work with fewer people.
Speaking at the NCUA’s public budget hearing at its headquarters here, Hauptman said the Trump Administration may be coming close to ending its government-wide hiring freeze but is replacing it with “caveats,” meaning staffing decisions remain tightly constrained. That reality, combined with significant voluntary departures already underway, is accelerating the agency’s restructuring effort.
“You can’t have 23% of people leaving and try to do things the same,” Hauptman said. “We don’t try to do more with less—we try to change what we’re doing.”
Roughly 70 employees remain set to exit by Dec. 31 under voluntary separation agreements. While the agency expects some natural attrition to continue, Hauptman reaffirmed NCUA’s commitment to achieving at least a 20% staff reduction. The agency is currently at approximately 23%.
Hauptman said teams across the agency have been working to consolidate functions and rethink reporting lines.
Hauptman said the agency expects to share “broad strokes” of the new structure by December, noting it will likely look different by the time the NCUA board approves the final 2026 budget.
Despite the rapid changes, the chairman stressed that exam strength remains the top priority. Resources will be concentrated closest to supervision, he said, and operational processes will continue to be streamlined to ensure mission-critical work remains front-and-center.
“We’re not trying to operate exactly as we did last year—because that simply won’t work with a smaller staff,” Hauptman said.