WASHINGTON—Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Maxine Waters (D-CA) are challenging the authority of NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman to lead the agency alone, following President Donald Trump's dismissal of NCUA's two other board members, Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka.
Warren and Waters sent a letter Friday to NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman requesting documents and explanations to assess the legitimacy of the board’s actions following the April dismissals.
The Lawmakers raised concerns about the legality of recent decisions made under the chairman's sole leadership.
As CUToday.info reported, the Trump Administration in mid-April removed Board Members Harper and Otsuka. That has prompted questions about the agency’s ability to perform with one lone member.
The lawmakers’ move follows their April letter to NCUA’s Inspector General James Hagen urging the OIG to investigate the dismissals of Harper and Otsuka and assess whether the agency can function effectively without a complete board.
In their letter to Hagen, the two lawmakers claim Trump’s firing of Harper and Otsuka are among the President’s attempts to “skirt the rule of law” and “undermine independent agencies.”
In their letter to Hauptman, the lawmakers explained their letter to Hagan requested information on what legal analysis, if any, the NCUA or other Administration officials conducted to assess the firings’ impact on the NCUA board; copies of all written communications and documents between NCUA officials, the White House, and other Administration officials regarding the decision; and a list of actions taken by the NCUA board on or after April 16, 2025.
“The IG response included troubling information that suggests neither the NCUA or the White House understands what actions the agency can lawfully take in the wake of the firings. According to documents provided to us by the IG, ‘when there is only one NCUA board member…serving on the board,’ individual board members may ‘carry out any essential function of the NCUA board,’” the lawmakers wrote.
However, Warren and Waters pointed out, the IG was unable to produce any documentation that delineates between essential and non-essential functions.
“Moreover, there is significant evidence to suggest that the NCUA board cannot fully function with only one board member,” they said. “By statute, the NCUA board ‘shall consist of three members’ and ‘a majority of the board shall constitute a quorum.’ The board has broad authority to oversee federal credit unions, including the power to prescribe rules and regulations. The board’s regulations at 12 C.F.R. § 791.2 make clear that ‘[t]he agreement of at least two of the three board members is required for any action by the board.’ The regulations also provide that the board cannot hold regular meetings if ‘a quorum is not available.’”
The lawmakers noted that the IG provided documents showing the delegation of certain authorities to the chair.
“For example, the chairman of the board was given the authority to act unilaterally during emergencies. ‘In an emergency situation,’ the NCUA board chair may temporarily ‘revoke’ certain delegations ‘to any staff person’; ‘exercise all HR authorities retained by the board’; place certain senior officials on administrative leave; and, the chair, ‘in a state of national emergency,’ may also exercise all authorities retained by the board,’” they explained.
“Notably, however, the NCUA is not currently in a state of emergency, and outside of emergency situations, board members’ ability to act is more limited,” Warren and Waters concluded.
The lawmakers have asked Hauptman to define the board’s essential functions and clarify whether any of the actions taken under Hauptman’ sole leadership qualify as “essential action.” If so, the lawmakers have demanded an explanation as to why. They further requested clarification on what constitutes an emergency and inquired whether the agency was currently operating under an emergency.