Former National Credit Union Administration board members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka have struck back.

After being fired by President Donald Trump April 16, Harper and Otsuka this week filed a legal case to restore the NCUA board to its full composition.

In a lawsuit filed April 28 in United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Harper and Otsuka said their removal was “patently unlawful” and was delivered “without explanation and without any cause.”

“Having grown up in a neighborhood next to Chicago’s industrial East Side, I learned early on that when someone begins a fight, you stand up and push back for what’s right,” Harper wrote in a LinkedIn post. “What’s right is protecting consumers and their deposits by maintaining an independent, three-member NCUA board guided by expert judgement in line with the Federal Credit Union Act’s mandates and other statutory requirements.”

Harper added that Trump’s action should concern everyone who uses a federally insured financial institution like a credit union or a bank.

“Credit union members need a strong, independent watchdog. That’s why we’re seeking relief to restore the board’s lawful composition and preserve the independence Congress mandated,” Harper said.

America’s Credit Unions, the industry’s largest trade group, said it is closely reviewing the lawsuit, but that its position has not changed – the NCUA needs to be an independent, bipartisan board.

“As the Administration has yet to propose nominations to fill the two current vacancies, we continue to engage the NCUA to gain further insights,” said its CEO Jim Nussle.

As to what – if any – actions NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman can take as the board’s lone member, industry observers may get some answers May 22.

Hauptman this week announced that the regulator will hold its regularly scheduled meeting next month after canceling the previous two meetings.

“This board meeting will provide the public information on the NCUA’s voluntary separation programs, the number of participants, and the agency’s path forward,” Hauptman said. “And all of us at NCUA are working together to build a more streamlined agency focused on executing our core mission of protecting the safety and soundness of the credit union system.”

“Dismantling the existing system of checks and balances established by Congress to protect credit union consumers and their deposits, as well as taxpayers from losses to the Share Insurance Fund, is risky, ill-advised and imprudent.”

 – Todd Harper
Former Board Member
NCUA