The reinstatement of two Democratic NCUA board members has been put on hold by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
In a short order, a three-judge panel of the court ruled that the reinstatement of Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka should be paused, at least temporarily.
"ORDERED that the district court's summary judgment order, dated July 22, 2025, be administratively stayed pending further order of this court," the appeals court said. "The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the emergency motion for stay pending appeal and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion."
Judge Amir H. Ali, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia had determined that the Democrat NCUA board members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka could only be removed for cause. Trump had fired them without cause and, thus, Judge Ali had ruled that Trump had fired them illegally.
The Trump Administration appealed that ruling. Because no stay of Judge Ali's order had yet been granted, Harper and Otsuka participated in a July 24 NCUA board meeting.
Harper and Otsuka must now file a response to the Administration's motion for an emergency stay by August 4. The Administration must file any reply by August 11.
Given the developments in other related cases that we have blogged about, Harper and Otsuka face the proverbial uphill battle.
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