The Supreme Court's recent decision expanding President Trump's authority to fire senior agency leaders is facing an immediate test as dismissed members of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) continue to contest their terminations.

Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka, former NCUA officials, argue that the NCUA is modeled after the Federal Reserve and should maintain a similar level of independence from presidential firing power. Their lawyers stated in an appeal court filing, “The NCUA follows in that same lineage.”

The District Court found that Congress deliberately structured the NCUA to mirror the Federal Reserve, with both agencies performing core market-regulatory functions such as chartering, supervision, and liquidity provision. The NCUA’s governing framework closely resembles that of the Federal Reserve in form and design.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, overturned 91 years of precedent that had allowed Congress to protect certain expert agency leaders from at-will presidential dismissal. Chief Justice John Roberts and other conservative justices ruled that such protections violate the separation of powers, granting the president broad firing authority across the executive branch.

While this ruling facilitates President Trump's efforts to remove leaders at agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, it also leaves room for exceptions. The justices acknowledged the Federal Reserve’s unique role in overseeing national monetary policy, a role with historical roots tracing back to the First Bank of the United States.

Harper and Otsuka’s legal team emphasized this historical continuity in court filings, noting that the NCUA’s independence stems from a tradition dating from English Crown officials’ insulation from political interference through the founding generation’s protections for the First and Second Banks, and Congress’s 1978 restructuring of the NCUA to secure its institutional independence.

The outcome of this challenge could clarify the scope of presidential firing power and agency independence following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision.

Sources

The Hill: Supreme Court’s expansion of Trump’s firing power heads for new test