The Trump administration has fired two Democratic board members from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the officials said Wednesday.
Todd Harper, one Democrat on the board, shared the news of his removal in a post on LinkedIn and said the firing was “just plain wrong.”
“The decision of the White House to fire me before the completion of my term is wrong. It violates the bipartisan statutory framework adopted by Congress to protect credit union members and their deposits,” Harper said in his statement.
Harper argued the firings were an attack on the NCUA and undermines the organization’s independence and work. The NCUA regulates credit unions and protects credit members.
“If a President can fire an NCUA Board member at any time, how will we maintain public trust in our nation’s financial services regulatory system?” he questioned.
The other Democrat removed was Tanya Otsuka. Their departures leave just one member of the board left, Republican Chair Kyle Hauptman, Reuters reported.
In a separate statement, reported by Reuters, Otsuka said she was informed about her immediate termination in an email Tuesday evening and said it was “yet another attempt to undermine the rule of law and blatantly ignore Congress and our democratic values.”
Harper was appointed by President Trump in 2019 and was named chair of the board in 2021 by former President Biden. His term was not set to expire until 2027. Otsuka was nominated by Biden and her term was not set to expire until 2029.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the firings. Trump is “the chief executive of the executive branch and reserves the right to fire anyone he wants,” she said, according to Reuters.
It’s the latest in the administration’s efforts to dismantle independent regulatory agencies.
Last month, the administration removed two Federal Trade Commission (FTC) members. The former commissioners were told their service was “inconsistent” with the administration’s policies but did not further specify. The FTC enforces antitrust law and consumer protection, which is separate from the White House directives.
The various firings have stirred debate about agencies’ independence from the executive branch and how the regulatory organizations will now impact the American public.