June 08, 2022

Toomey Opposes Todd Harper for NCUA

Questions the Legality of Harper’s Reappointment

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) today opposed the nomination of Todd Harper for Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) in part over concerns about the legality of his reappointment.


“Mr. Harper’s reappointment appears to violate the prohibition on a board member serving successive terms. While I understand there is an alternative legal interpretation, such reading of the law opens the door to the possibility of a lifetime term in office. For this reason, I cannot support his nomination.”


On October 21, 2021, Ranking Member Toomey wrote to Mr. Harper requesting more information to understand the legal basis for his re-nomination. As the letter states, under the Federal Credit Union Act (FCUA), NCUA board members “shall not be appointed to succeed themselves” except that “members appointed to fill unexpired terms may be reappointed for a full six-year term.”


Mr. Harper was appointed and confirmed to serve in an open seat, not to fulfill the remainder of a term caused by a board member’s resignation or departure from office. After the NCUA failed to provide satisfactory answers to Ranking Member Toomey’s questions, he wrote to the White House in December 2021 requesting written answers regarding the Executive Branch’s legal basis for reappointing Mr. Harper.

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