A federal appeals court late on July 25 temporarily paused a lower court ruling preventing President Donald Trump from firing two of the three members of a financial regulator’s board.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) insures deposits at federally insured credit unions.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the government’s emergency motion to stay a July 22 ruling by U.S. District Judge Amir Ali of Washington.
Ali said Trump lacked legal authority to fire Senate-confirmed NCUA board members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka in April.
The judge ordered them reinstated to their positions, adding that the president may remove them from the agency board before their terms expire “only for cause.”
The circuit court panel said it was putting Ali’s order on hold to give the court time to consider the government’s motion. The panel said that its order, known as an administrative stay, “should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion.”
The panel directed Harper and Otsuka to file a response to the government’s motion by Aug. 4.
Harper joined the NCUA board in April 2019 after Trump nominated him. President Joe Biden later nominated him for a term to expire in April 2027. Otsuka joined the board in January 2024 for a term to end in August 2029. She was nominated by Biden.
That left in place only one board member, Kyle Hauptman. He joined the board in December 2020 after Trump nominated him. Trump designated him as chairman on Jan. 20 of this year.
In April 2025, the White House informed Harper and Otsuka that they had been fired from their positions, effectively immediately. No reason was given.
Harper and Otsuka sued, claiming the terminations were unlawful.
Ali described the NCUA in his ruling as an “independent agency that functions much like the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.”
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