White House taps Senate staffer to take credit union regulator board seat held by former chairman in holdover status

Kyle Hauptman, a Senate committee staff aide and former member of President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential transition team, would become the newest member of the federal credit union regulator’s board under an “intention to nominate” announcement Monday by the White House.

Hauptman would replace current NCUA Board Member (and former chairman) J. Mark McWatters. McWatters’ term on the board ended last August; he has been serving in a “holdover” status since then.

If confirmed by the Senate, Hauptman would serve the remainder of a six-year term which ends in August 2025.

According to a release from the White House, Hauptman is now staff director of the Senate Banking Committee’s Economic Policy subcommittee. He also serves, the White House said, as economic policy advisor to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a member of the Banking Committee.

The White House said Hauptman worked on Trump’s 2016 Presidential Transition Team and was a policy advisor for financial services for 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney during that campaign (Romney is now a U.S. senator from Utah).

Hauptman holds a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and an MBA from Columbia University, the White House said.

McWatters joined the NCUA Board in 2014; in 2017, he was named “acting” chairman of the board; in June of that year, he was named permanent chairman. He held that position until last year when Trump named Rodney Hood, a new member of the board, to the chairman’s seat.

Eight Nominations Sent to the Senate

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts