Trump Nominates John Crews To Serve On NCUA Board

President Donald Trump has nominated John Crews to serve on the NCUA board. If confirmed, Crews would replace Kyle Hauptman as the sole board member of the agency.

Hauptman’s term expired in August 2025, but he has stayed on the board as permitted by section 102(c) of the Federal Credit Union Act, which allows any board member to continue to serve after the expiration of their term until a successor has qualified.

In January the Securities and Exchange Commission nominated Hauptman to serve as a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. At the time, Hauptman said he intended to remain with the NCUA until a successor is chosen.

Crews currently serves as the Treasury Department’s deputy assistant secretary for financial institutions.

Before assuming his current position, Crews was policy director for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., where he covered economic and financial services policy. Before joining Scalise’s staff, Crews served as policy director for the Senate Banking Committee. During the first Trump administration, Crews worked in the White House on the National Economic Council, where he served as a special assistant to the president for economic policy. 

In commenting about the nomination, Scott Simpson, President/CEO of America’s Credit Unions said, “Crews understands the important role mission-driven lenders like credit unions play in helping families and small businesses get ahead. His experience at the Treasury Department reflects a thoughtful approach to innovation, safety, and expanding access to affordable financial services.” He added, “We look forward to working with him in this capacity to ensure credit unions have a modern regulatory framework that supports their ability to serve more than 146 million Americans who rely on them as trusted financial partners in uncertain times.” 

If confirmed, Crews’s term would end in August 2031. He would serve as the sole member of the board because President Trump fired the two Democratic members of the NCUA board, Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka.

After being notified that they had been fired, Harper and Otsuka sued in the District Court for the District of Columbia. The District Court found 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, granted the request for a stay pending appeal, and then later issued an order holding the case in abeyance. 

Subsequently, Otsuka and Harper filed their petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment, asking the Supreme Court to consider their firings on an expedited basis. The court declined to issue that writ.

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