Hauptman Confirmed as NCUA Board Member

Hauptman’s confirmation means Republicans will likely have a majority on the board at its December meeting.

NCUA official seal. (Source: NCUA)

The Senate confirmed Kyle Hauptman as a member of the NCUA board Wednesday.

The 56 to 39 vote ensured that Republicans will maintain a majority on the agency board even when President-elect Joe Biden takes office. There was significant Democratic opposition to the nomination.

The NCUA board has had two members — Chairman Rodney Hood, a Republican, and Democrat Todd Harper — since Republican J. Mark McWatters recently resigned.

Hauptman’s confirmation also means that Republicans likely will have a majority on the board at its December meeting, when the agency’s budget is scheduled to be considered. Harper and Hood have clashed on the budget’s priorities, with Harper saying that the agency should have a dedicated consumer protection examination staff.

Hauptman has been Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-Ark.) economic policy advisor and staff director of the Senate’s Economic Policy Subcommittee. He also served on President Trump’s 2016 presidential transition team and was Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-Utah) financial services policy advisor when Romney was the GOP presidential nominee in 2012.

From 2015 to 2016, Hauptman served on the SEC’s Advisory Committee for Small and Emerging Companies.

Hauptman was a fixed-income trader in Tokyo, New York City and Sydney, Australia, and worked for Lehman Brothers as it collapsed. He earned his MBA from Columbia University and his B.A. from UCLA.

In a floor speech, Cotton said that Hauptman is well-qualified for the job.

“The NCUA, American taxpayers and millions of people who rely on credit unions will be well served by Kyle, who brings to the job a collegial spirit and rare knowledge of the financial market,” he said.

Cotton said Hauptman’s Lehman Brothers experience during its collapse also helps him understand the needs of families facing financial problems.

“Lest anyone think that Kyle doesn’t understand what struggling American families can face, as an analyst on the Asia desk at Lehman Brothers, Kyle lost his job and his savings during the financial crisis, which means he has a deep and gut-level understanding about how decisions made by bankers and bureaucrats at the top can have serious consequences for everyone else,” Cotton said.

And he described how Cotton might approach his tenure at the NCUA. “As anyone who knows Kyle can attest, he is a friendly and fast-talking guy, always ready with a joke and a smile, and his congeniality has helped smooth over many partisan spats so that the business of the American people can move forward,” Cotton said.