Harper, Otsuka seek SCOTUS review of dismissal

Dismissed NCUA board members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka have filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting it grant review of their case alongside Trump v. Slaughter. The Supreme Court last week indicated it would review Slaughter (a challenge filed by dismissed Federal Trade Commission Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya) during its December argument session.

Harper and Otsuka also seek expedited consideration, claiming the stay imposed by the D.C. Court of Appeals that keeps them off the board is preventing them from carrying out their statutorily mandated duties, including addressing the March 2026 expiration of the NCUA’s 18% federal credit union interest rate ceiling. They argue that a single Board member does not meet the quorum requirement necessary to take such an action. The board must re-approve any rate above 15% every 18 months, the 18% ceiling has been in place since May 1987, and was re-approved most recently in July 2024.

Oral arguments in Harper v. Bessent were originally scheduled for Nov. 21, but the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals suspended them pending the Supreme Court review of Slaughter.

America’s Credit Unions continues to support an independent NCUA with a bipartisan, three-member board as essential to effective oversight of the credit union industry.