President Donald Trump has appointed J. Mark McWatters as acting chairman of the NCUA, according to a statement from the NCUA Thursday.

McWatters, a Republican, replaces Rick Metsger, a Democrat who remains on the board. The president has the power to select a chairman and it had been widely speculated that Trump would select McWatters, since currently there are only two members on the three-member NCUA board.

The chairman designation does not require Senate confirmation

Trump will be able to nominate another Republican for the vacancy on the board. However, the president's party may only have two seats on the board.

McWatters became a member of the board in August 2014, when he was confirmed by the Senate. At the time, he was new to the credit union industry.

Last year, President Obama nominated McWatters for a vacancy on the Export-Import Bank, but the nomination died when the-Senate Banking Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), an opponent of the bank, refused to consider the choice.

In the December issue of the NCUA Report, McWatters outlined several priorities he would like to see the board tackle this year, including areas in which the agency could be more helpful to small credit unions and the establishment of a Credit Union Advisory Council

Prior to joining the board, he was a member of the Troubled Asset Relief Program Congressional Oversight Panel and served as counsel to House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).

Before that, he served as the Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs and a Professor of Practice at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, as well as an Adjunct Professor at the SMU Cox School of Business.

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Trump Chooses McWatters as Acting Chairman of NCUA

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