The White House nominated John Crews, the Treasury Department’s deputy assistant secretary for financial institutions policy, to serve as a National Credit Union Administration board member, according to a Monday announcement.
If confirmed by the Senate, Crews would replace Kyle Hauptman as the NCUA’s chair and only board member.
The Securities and Exchange Commission nominated Hauptman in January to serve as a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. At the time, Hauptman said he intended to remain with the NCUA until a successor is chosen.
Crews’ term would run through Aug. 2, 2031. Before joining the Treasury Department in April 2025, Crews served as policy adviser for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-LA. Crews has also logged two stints with the Senate Banking Committee since 2017, including as policy director from 2020 to 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also worked at the White House as a special assistant to the president for economic policy.
The NCUA’s governing statute technically requires two board members for a quorum. (It has typically had three.) But the agency has been operating without a quorum since April 2025, when President Donald Trump fired its two Democratic members, Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka.
Harper and Otsuka sued Trump to be reinstated, and a federal judge ordered them to be reinstated, citing Congress’ restriction of the president’s powers to remove board members. But an appeals court granted the Trump administration an emergency stay, sidelining the regulators again.
In a statement Tuesday, Scott Simpson, CEO of the trade group America’s Credit Unions, said Crews “understands the important role mission-driven lenders like credit unions play in helping families and small businesses get ahead.”
“His experience at the Treasury Department reflects a thoughtful approach to innovation, safety and expanding access to affordable financial services,” Simpson said. “We look forward to working with him in this capacity to ensure credit unions have a modern regulatory framework that supports their ability to serve more than 146 million Americans who rely on them as trusted financial partners in uncertain times.”
