The two NCUA board members on Thursday congratulated each other for their collaboration over the past 24 months but left unspoken was one part of the equation—the third board seat has remained unfilled for two years.
Republican NCUA Board Chairman J. Mark McWatters and Democrat Rick Metsger said that their ability to compromise has allowed the agency to operate with a party split that could have gridlocked the organization.
“We've made great progress over those 24 months, and I dare say that if other federal agencies worked as cooperatively as we did, our nation would not be suffering from partisan gridlock and distrust,” Metsger said.
McWatters said that collaboration and respect has led to a series of compromises. And he said that since he and Metsger cannot talk with each other under open meeting requirements, their staffs have cut the deals needed for the agency to operate.
Under federal law, a conversation between the two would constitute a quorum and public notice of that meeting will be required.
But even as the two men patted each other on the back, all three seats on the board remain in flux.
Since President Trump is a Republican, he is entitled to have two Republicans on the board; the third members may not be a Republican.
One seat has been vacant since Debbie Matz left two years ago. Former President Obama attempted to fill that seat before leaving office, nominating John Herrera, an officer at the Self-Help Credit Union, to take the seat.
However, the Republican-controlled Senate did not consider the nomination.
Technically, Metsger's appointment expired on Aug. 2, but he is staying on board until a successor takes office.
Even McWatters's seat may be in flux. He has been mentioned as a possible nominee for director of the CFPB. President Trump must at least nominate someone by June 22 for Acting Director Mick Mulvaney to be able to stay in office under federal law.
Sources have said that the timing of the NCUA nominations will depend on whether McWatters is selected as CFPB director.
The Trump Administration is likely to try to pair a Republican and a Democrat for the NCUA seats in order to ease the confirmation process.
Once any of these nominations are made, the nominees still will still have to go through the confirmation. And since this is an election year, the Senate is likely to try to adjourn early this fall and return following the election.
Trump has been making nominations to fill seats on financial regulatory boards; this week he made two nominations to the Federal Reserve Board.
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