‘No One Home’ At NCUA As Agency Awaits Crews Swearing-In
By CU Today Staff —
ALEXANDRIA, Va.--NCUA is operating without a single sitting board member more than a week after the Senate confirmed John Crews to lead the agency, a gap in leadership that POLITICO reported remains unresolved as Crews awaits his formal swearing-in.
Crews won Senate confirmation Aug. 7, but has not yet taken the oath of office, while former NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman has already departed the agency. POLITICO reported the situation has effectively left no political appointee at the top of the federal regulator overseeing and insuring the nation’s credit unions.
Hauptman was sworn in Aug. 10 as a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, three days after Crews’ confirmation, formally ending his NCUA tenure. The PCAOB identified Hauptman as the former NCUA chairman in announcing his swearing-in.
The leadership vacuum is the latest twist in an already unprecedented period for the three-member NCUA board. As CUToday.info has reported, Trump removed Democratic board members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka in April 2025, leaving Hauptman as the agency’s lone board member. NCUA maintained at the time that precedent and standing delegations allowed the agency to continue carrying out its statutory and operational responsibilities with a single board member. Crews, who most recently served as Treasury deputy assistant secretary for financial institutions policy, told senators during his June confirmation hearing that his priorities would include reducing regulatory burden, encouraging technological innovation and supporting the creation of new credit unions.
The Senate confirmed Crews 51-47 on Aug. 7, and industry groups initially expected him to move quickly into the NCUA seat. As of Tuesday, however, that transition had not occurred, leaving career NCUA staff running the agency while the industry waits for Crews to be sworn in and for Trump to formally designate the regulator’s next chairman.
CUToday.info has reached out to NCUA for comment.
Originally reported by CU Today.