WASHINGTON—U.S. District Judge Amir Ali has denied the Trump Administration’s request to stay his earlier ruling that ordered the immediate reinstatement of NCUA Board Members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka, declaring their removal unlawful.
As CUToday.info previously reported, Judge Ali warned that allowing the Administration’s legal argument to stand could pave the way for a president to unilaterally remove independent financial regulators—including the chair of the Federal Reserve.
The denial of the stay means the reinstatement order remains in effect, and both Harper and Otsuka participated in Thursday’s open NCUA board meeting.
Had the stay been granted, enforcement of the ruling would have been temporarily paused. With that effort rejected, the Trump Administration is now expected to appeal the decision, escalating the case to a higher court.
In his ruling late Thursday, Judge Amir stated: “The government has moved to stay the Court’s order pending appeal…The government’s motion does not satisfy the stay criteria. The stay motion and reply, like the government’s merits arguments, fail to appreciate that the NCUA’s predominant role is overseeing financial institutions in a manner similar to the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, rather than exercising ‘considerable executive power.’
“A stay is an intrusion into the ordinary processes of administration and judicial review and accordingly is not a matter of right, even if irreparable injury might otherwise result to the appellant,” continued Amir. “The court considers: (1) whether the stay applicant has made a strong showing that he is likely to succeed on the merits; (2) whether the applicant will be irreparably injured absent a stay; (3) whether issuance of the stay will substantially injure the other parties interested in the proceeding; and (4) where the public interest lies.
“The government has not satisfied these criteria. For the reasons in the Court’s opinion, the government is not likely to succeed on the merits of its argument that NCUA Board members must be removable at will,” concluded Amir. “In its stay motion, the government simply states that it ‘respectfully disagrees with the Court’s analysis’ and reiterates arguments that the Court has already rejected. This falls well short of the ‘strong showing’ required to obtain a stay pending appeal.”