Latest NCUA board nominee clears Senate Banking Committee

Kyle Hauptman is one step closer to being confirmed for a seat on the National Credit Union Administration board.

The Senate Banking Committee approved Hauptman’s nomination to the regulator on Wednesday by voice vote. His confirmation hearing took place in July along with two nominees to serve as members of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

During that hearing, Hauptman was forced to defend his credentials since he does not have experience working inside the credit union system.

His nomination will now go before the full Senate, though with that chamber set to start its August recess at the end of this week it remains unclear whether Hauptman will be confirmed before Labor Day. The next NCUA board meeting is scheduled for mid-September.

Hauptman will replace Mark McWatters, a board member and former chairman, who has continued to serve since his term expired in August 2019. If he is confirmed, Hauptman’s term would end in August 2025.

The next open seat will be Todd Harper, whose term expires in August 2021. Regardless of whether President Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden wins the election, that seat is required to go to a Democrat, since Hauptman and NCUA Chairman Rodney Hood are both Republicans. The earliest the board’s political makeup could change would be when Hood’s term ends in 2023.

Trump elevate McWatters to NCUA chairman in 2017 but later demoted him following Hood’s confirmation. Like Hauptman, McWatters was largely an outsider to the industry before joining the board. There's been speculation that Hauptman's staunch opposition to the Dodd-Frank Act could put him at odds with Harper, who helped craft the legislation.