(Jan. 28, 2022) A vote by the full Senate is the next stop on the journey of the nomination of Todd Harper to be confirmed for another term on the NCUA Board as chairman. No date has been yet set for a vote.

The Senate Banking Committee voted 17-7 last week to recommend Harper’s confirmation to the full Senate. It was one of 12 votes that the committee took last week on nominations by President Joe Biden (D)

Harper joined the NCUA Board in 2019 to fill an unexpired term and was designated chairman in January 2021 by Biden, succeeding Rodney Hood (R). If confirmed, Harper would have a board term that continues through April 10, 2027. The current term of Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman ends in August 2025; the current term of Board Member Rodney Hood in August 2023.

The Federal Credit Union Act generally provides that NCUA Board members may not be appointed to succeed themselves, but the act also notes that someone appointed to fill an unexpired term may be reappointed for a full six-year term.

As NCUA Board chairman, Harper serves on and is now also the chair of the FFIEC.

LINK:

Senate Banking and Housing Committee Votes on Key Biden Administration Nominees

(Aug. 13, 2021) NASCUS’ Lucy Ito congratulated Harper for the renomination. She noted his experience with credit union issues in both regulatory and legislative areas, and his focus on consumer protections and capital requirements for credit unions. “NASCUS has established a strong rapport with the chairman, which enables both sides to share insights and concerns candidly for the ultimate benefit of a strong dual chartering system,” Ito said. “We look forward to continuing the dialog with Chairman Harper and wish him the best as the confirmation process unfolds.”

(Aug. 13, 2021) Todd Harper could remain chairman of the NCUA Board through at least 2024, and would be able to stay on the agency board (either as board leader or a member) until at least April 2027, if the Senate confirms him to another term as recommended by the White House this week.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden (D) sent Harper’s nomination to continue to be a member of the NCUA Board to the Senate. The White House release noted the action is a “reappointment” to the agency board, and would be for a term expiring April 10, 2027.

Harper joined the board after confirmation by the Senate in March 2019, following his nomination to the seat by President Donald Trump (R) in February. He was named chairman of the board, succeeding Republican appointee Rodney Hood, in January of this year by the newly inaugurated Biden.

If confirmed, Harper may continue to be chairman of the three-member board. However, should Biden serve only one term (by not prevailing in the 2024 election, for instance), the next president could designate another board member as chairman. In any event, the chairman serves at the pleasure of the president, whoever that may be.

Since joining the board, Harper was filling a term that was held by former NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz and that began in 2015. Matz resigned in 2016, and the seat had been open until Harper filled it two years ago.

However, that six-year term officially ended in April and Harper has been serving in a holdover capacity since then (which he can do until his successor is confirmed by the Senate). In this case, Harper will be his own successor. Typically, NCUA Board members cannot succeed themselves – but there are exception and different interpretations of the exceptions. The Biden White House has essentially established a precedent in interpreting the Federal Credit Union Act to allow someone appointed to fill an unexpired term to be reappointed for a full six-year term.

Harper was the first NCUA staffer to become an agency board member and chairman. He had previously served as head of the agency’s Office of Public and Congressional Affairs and was the chief policy advisor to two former agency board chairmen, including Matz as well as Rick Metsger. He previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives as staff director for the on capital markets, insurance, and government-sponsored enterprises subcommittee and as legislative director and senior legislative assistant to former Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.).

The nomination will head for consideration to the Senate Banking Committee, whose chairman (Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio) issued a statement this week saying he looks “forward to considering Chairman Harper’s renomination in the Committee and looks forward to continuing to work together to strengthen the NCUA and ensure credit unions can serve their members.”

No confirmation hearing date has yet been set by the Senate panel.

LINK:

White House nominations sent to the Senate

(Aug. 13, 2021) The renomination of Harper to a seat on the NCUA Board holds some other significance. First, it would keep him on the board much longer than the other two current members of the board. Second, the NCUA Board seat is only one of five federal financial institution regulators that are currently open (or filled with “acting” or holdover incumbents) for which the White House has seen fit to recently submit a nomination.

If confirmed to a new term, NCUA Board Chairman Todd Harper would immediately snare the longest tenure of the three current members of the NCUA Board. Now-Member (and former chairman) Hood’s term ends two years from now (in August 2023). The term of Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman (also a Republican nominee) ends in August 2025.

By naming Harper to a new term, the Biden administration is attempting to fill permanently (that is, not in an acting or holdover capacity) one of five empty or expired financial regulators’ terms. Four of those are still seeking a nominee to fill the seat permanently. Those are:

• Comptroller of the Currency (now filled by Acting Comptroller Michael J. Hsu);
• Vice chairman of the FDIC Board (now vacant);
• Member of the Federal Reserve Board (now vacant);
• Member of the FDIC Board (now held by Martin Gruenberg, serving in a holdover capacity since December 2018).

No one has been nominated to permanently fill any of those vacant, acting, or holdover positions.

A sixth position, for a permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), has a nominee – Rohit Chopra, now a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Chopra’s nomination was recommended to the full Senate by tied vote (12-12) in March. The nomination, for a five-year term, now awaits action by the Senate; no vote has yet been scheduled. In the meantime, Dave Uejio has been filling the seat – but his days at the helm of the bureau may be numbered. On Aug. 5, Uejio appeared before the Senate Banking Committee for a confirmation hearing on his nomination to be assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).