McWatters Forced Off NCUA Board Following Disagreement With Hood: Source
J. Mark McWatters resigns from the NCUA board in a short letter to the White House.
NCUA board member J. Mark McWatters was forced off the NCUA board Friday—one day after he told Chairman Rodney Hood he could not support the agency’s proposed 2021 budget, a source familiar with the situation told CU Times.
The source, who requested anonymity, said McWatters was given the option of resigning from the board or he would be removed by the White House. The source added that under normal circumstances, an NCUA board member can only be removed for cause, but that because McWatters’s term has expired, he could be removed.
Rather than being removed by Trump, McWatters chose to resign, the source said.
McWatters had been serving on the board until his successor is confirmed.
During Thursday’s board meeting, McWatters, a Republican, and Todd Harper, a Democrat, said they could not support the budget that Hood has proposed. Harper said he wanted a dedicated consumer protection staff at the agency, but McWatters did not give a reason for his opposition.
McWatters’s term on the NCUA board was likely coming to an end anyway since the Senate is scheduled to consider the nomination of his replacement, Kyle Hauptman, during the week of Nov. 30.