The same day, Trump designated as NCUA’s chair Kyle Hauptman, who had served on Trump's 2016 transition team and who Trump nominated in 2020 to be NCUA’s vice chair. Hauptman replaces former Chair Todd Harper who remains on the board alongside Tanya Otsuka.

Meanwhile, Republicans are circulating a 50-page list that includes lifting the federal income tax exemption for credit unions that goes back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1934.

America's Credit Unions (AmCU) and the Defense Credit Union Council have said the tax exemption is vital to credit unions. They cited examples such as being able to offer lower loan rates and extend a credit card to a 19-year-old just out of basic training.

"The tax exemption is core to how we operate as not-for-profit, member-owned cooperatives," Carrie Hunt, AmCU’s chief advocacy officer, said Monday. “If we were to lose our tax exemption, the credit union business model would not be viable — at least certainly not viable into the future."

Hauptman issued a list of priorities Jan. 22, but did not mention his positions on the NCUA’s federal tax exemption, which Republicans are considering abolishing to help pay for tax cuts. He also did not address the status of DEI programs.

CU Times asked NCUA about those issues last week, and an NCUA spokesperson replied by email on Monday:

Does Chairman Hauptman support removing the tax exemption for credit unions, and what is his reasoning?
NCUA spokesperson: “Chairman Hauptman believes that Congress and the states have authority over taxes, for all the various types of not-for-profit entities, credit unions included. If the tax exemption for credit unions were removed that would likely have a direct effect on the safety and soundness of credit unions, especially smaller credit unions.”

What is the future of the NCUA’s DEI work? With Trump demanding federal agencies get rid of it, what’s the NCUA going to do?
NCUA spokesperson: “NCUA seeks to comply with executive orders whenever possible.”

Miguel Polanco runs the NCUA’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion. Is that going away?
NCUA spokesperson: “No. NCUA’s OMWI Office is required by the 2010 and Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and has EEOC responsibilities, also required by statute.”

Is their annual DEI conference going to be canceled?
NCUA spokesperson: “Yes. One possibility is a separate event focused on ‘true’ financial inclusion, such as removing barriers to de novo credit unions and removing the ‘pain points’ that have led to fewer and fewer small credit unions. Those ‘pain points’ could be NCUA regulations and procedures, but perhaps also state and federal law. Financial inclusion also means fostering innovation and encouraging credit union growth.”

Contact Jim DuPlessis at [email protected].