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In a high-level meeting with U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender on Monday, America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle pressed the case for preserving the independence of the NCUA and restoring its full three-member board following the recent controversial dismissal of two board members by President Trump.
Nussle, joined by Chief Advocacy Officer Carrie Hunt and Head of Regulatory Affairs James Akin, raised the issue as the top priority in the meeting, which covered several credit union industry concerns.
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“First of all, I brought it up and it was one of the first — in fact, I believe it was the first thing I brought up,” Nussle said. “The tone of it is a clear recognition … that [Treasury officials] don’t have the authority to make any changes [to NCUA structure].”
The meeting followed growing speculation about whether the Trump administration would push to consolidate the NCUA under broader executive oversight, a move that would require congressional action. Nussle said those rumors were addressed directly.
“They find it surprising that the story of consolidation has legs,” he said. “That was definitely an impression I walked away with. I share that surprise … [Treasury] understand[s] fully that any change would require statutory change.”
Nussle also emphasized that Treasury seemed to reaffirm its stance publicly and privately. “Now [we] have the assurance of the Deputy Secretary that it is not their intent,” he added. “They’re like, ‘Yeah, this isn’t on our radar. We’re not doing that.’”
The conversation also allowed America’s Credit Unions to restate its demand for a fully seated NCUA Board, which currently consists of only one member, Chairman Kyle Hauptman, following the abrupt removals of Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka.
“As soon as the president made this announcement with regard to the removal of the board members, we called for the president to nominate and we called for an independent agency,” Nussle said. “We called for a full contingency of board members and to follow the Federal Credit Union Act.”
While acknowledging that Treasury’s role in nominations is not always visible, Nussle concluded, “Their public statements and now their assurances … give me the impression that we can continue to move forward as we have from day one.”
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
