The National Credit Union Administration suddenly cancelled its monthly board meeting scheduled for this Thursday.

Some industry insiders believe the agency is most likely working behind the scenes on its reduction in force plan for DOGE and the White House.

On both March 12 and 21, the board held closed meetings to discuss personnel. The regulator said on its website it determined “that agency business required holding a closed meeting with less than seven days’ notice to the public, and that no earlier notice of the meeting was possible.”

At the NCUA’s February meeting, Chairman Kyle Hauptman admitted that he is as uncertain about the exact future of the agency as anyone.

“While we on the board don’t have any more info on White House directives than anyone else, I’m happy to talk to you about problems and possible solutions. I’ll tell you what I know and don’t know,” he said.

Mark Treichel, former executive director of the NCUA who now runs Credit Union Exam Solutions, said on LinkedIn that tensions among the three board members may be rising.

Board Chairman Kyle Hauptman is a Republican, but both Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka are Democrats. Hauptman was selected to serve as NCUA chairman by President Donald Trump in January.

“Disagreements over NSF and overdraft fees suggest the era of board collegiality may be ending,” Treichel wrote. “With Chairman Hauptman outnumbered by two Democrats, maneuvering to act on Trump initiatives is difficult.”

The NCUA March 3 announced it will no longer publish overdraft and non-sufficient fund fee income for individual credit unions. But Harper subsequently called that decision wrong.

“If credit unions are to live up to their statutory purpose of supporting the financial needs of ‘people of modest means’ and the credit union movement’s oft-touted ‘people-helping-people’ philosophy, then credit union member-owners should have access to this basic market information, so they can make better decisions about how and where to deposit and access their hard-earned money,” Harper wrote.

Otsuka agreed with Harper, saying transparency is vital for promoting fair competition within the financial system.

“This is a step in the wrong direction,” she said. “There is no data to suggest credit unions limited the services they provide low-income or underserved consumers last year simply to avoid having to report fee income on the NCUA’s call reports.

If the board were to meet publicly, the overdraft controversy would likely be brought up, which some think may be one reason Hauptman cancelled the March meeting.

Treichel added that Trump’s executive order limiting new regulations leaves the NCUA board with little to put on the agenda.

“Expect more strategic deadlock if partisan divisions continue to flare,” Treichel said. “If yet another ‘surprise’ closed meeting materializes without time for public notice… well, the irony deepens.”

The next NCUA board meeting is scheduled for April 17.