Welcome back to day two of the Governmental Affairs Conference! Now that the week had officially begun and the majority of attendees successfully arrived in D.C., it was time for the official opening ceremony and all the fanfare that accompanies such a grand event.
As per tradition, the Governmental Affairs Conference commenced with the procession of the flags, where the credit union leagues march their state flags in one by one as credit union representatives from each of those states cheer from the crowd. (I, of course, have to give a shoutout to my home state of Michigan, which received no small amount of cheers, earning an impressed, “There we are, Michigan showed up!” from host Mia Perez.)
Following the flag procession, the color guard made its way to the main stage, the national anthem was sung, and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. And just like that, the 2025 Governmental Affairs Conference was in session.
Tell the story ethusiastically and repeatedly
While the opening of the second general session remained as fun and lighthearted as the first, with America’s Credit Unions President and CEO Jim Nussle and his wife Karen Nussle performing the hustle (and yes, I caught video evidence of it), our predicitions from yesterday’s article on waiting for the rest of the credit union advocates to arrive before jumping into the serious conversations turned out to be accurate.
After commenting that the thousands of credit union advocates flooding D.C. felt comparable to the cavalry arriving to save the day (clearly someone read our recap from day one), Nussle then proceeded to lay out the issues facing credit unions in this administration, from NCUA’s independence on the line, the tax-exemption status being called into question, interchange at risk, the increasing prevalence of fraud, constantly shifting regulation changes, and a flurry of executive orders coming down the pipeline.
“Welcome to Washington,” Nussle remarked, “Where D.C. now stands for disruption and chaos.”
And while that welcome doesn’t quite paint an enticing picture for the work these credit union leaders have ahead of them this week, Nussle encouraged credit unions to lean into the storm. “We as credit unions have to play the cards we’ve been dealt. That’s just a fact. We can’t wish it away, we cannot be frustrated about it. Yes, there’s chaos, but we have to deal with that. We have to embrace that chaos to some extent.”
As attendees gear up for the hundreds of meetings all over Capitol Hill that will be occurring in the next few days, Nussle cautioned them against allowing internal and external forces that work to divide the industry and cut into the message credit unions are hoping to impart on their representatives—including personal political opinions.
“I want to offer a prayer, maybe a hope, that as we think about our own personal partisanship, we’ll set that aside and instead be partisan this week for credit unions. That’s what we need to be doing.”
Above all though, Nussle and the speakers following him over the course of the day all stressed the critical need for credit unions to follow the theme of the year, move together, and speak with one consistent and clear voice this week to share our stories, educate our policy makers,—who Nussle admits do not know the difference between a credit union and a bank—and convey our industry’s impact.
“If we are not at the table telling our story,” Nussle stated, “we will be on the menu.”
National Credit Union Foundation remarks
Following Nussle was speaker Lauren Culp, Executive Director of the National Credit Union Foundation. Lauren’s message to attendees was much the same as Nussle’s, reminding credit unions to be loud and clear about why credit unions matter and the good work they do, but to also remember the foundation on which they were formed: to create a movement that was larger than the sum of its parts.
This foundation, Culp went on to share, is the purpose driving the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) forward. Because although as a 501(c)(3)—or, in layman’s terms, a charitable organization—the NCUF is prohibited from advocacy work themselves, that doesn’t stop them from creating and growing “stories of impact” that both America’s Credit Unions and attendees can harvest and share this week in Washington.
“We need to start to think not as individuals, or as single credit unions but as one system, one united credit union system, pulling our resources behind financial wellbeing. When we do that, we achieve impacts that we never could have done alone on behalf of the everyday Americans and our communities who could not need it more. This is why the National Credit Union Foundation exists.”
Pearls of leadership
As Culp exited the stage, she introduced our keynote speaker of the day, Carla Harris. Vice Chairman of Wealth Management and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley, Chair of the National Women’s Business Council, successful book author, and a gospel singer who has sold out multiple shows at Carnegie Hall to boot, Harris came to share her secrets to leadership success with attendees (and you, lucky reader, by extension).
In her book, Expect to Win, Harris discusses what she calls her “eight pearls of leadership” that can guide any leader toward proven paths of success. The eight pearls—authenticity, trust, clarity, cultivating leaders, diversity, innovating and teaching teams how to fail, soliciting other people’s voices, and voice—all serve to create powerful connections between leaders, their team, and their clients, cultivating a diverse culture where people feel inspired to innovate and share their perspective.
Here are the pearls in a bit more detail, as explained by Harris:
- Authenticity: Be uniquely you. Not only does it create trust, which is at the heart of any successful relationship, but it allows you to put all your focus and energy on the task in front of you. Bring all aspects of yourself to the table, as you never know which one will allow you to connect with that member.
- Build trust: Trust is a premium in this environment with both clients and colleagues. It will be the linchpin in client relationships and keeping your best people.
- Create clarity: If you choose to wear the leader’s label, it is your job to create clarity and define what success looks like.
- Creating other leaders: Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Let other people take on tasks. You cannot get to second base with your foot still on first. You have to let it go. Be intentional and invest in other leaders.
- Diversity: Leaders must be intentional about achieving diversity, it will not just happen on its own, as we are all vulnerable to unconscious bias. If you have homogeneous thinking, you have a gap in your strategy that the competition may not. You need to ensure you have all voices represented at your leadership table.
- Teach teams how to innovate and how to fail: Every successful industry requires innovation, but if your team is afraid of failing, they will never reach far enough to innovate. Teach them how to fail so they are confident enough to get back up and try again.
- Solicit other people’s voices: This is how you show up as an inclusive leader.
- Voice: You must be willing to call a thing a thing no matter how bad it may be. Give voice to it. Without this, you are impairing trust and your ability to show up authentically.
When leaders embrace these pearls, there is no limit to the heights their teams can reach, should they have the fortitude to reach for it, says Harris. “Fear has no place in your success equation,” Harris concluded. “The strand that holds these pearls together is courage.”
Fireside chat with TruStage CEO Terrance Williams
Kicking off the second general session of the day, Jim Nussle and TruStage President and CEO Terrance Williams shared a brief but impactful chat on the partnership between their two organizations and where Williams feels credit unions can strive for improvement.
Echoing earlier sentiments—and the apparent theme of the day—Williams encouraged credit unions to remember the “power of ‘we'” and to be more aggressive and committed to sharing their stories with one amplified voice—something he feels credit unions need to become more consistent with.
Williams went on to announce that TruStage will continue to be a steadfast partner to the credit movement now and in the future, particularly throughout its battle on tax exemption. To support the fight, TruStage will be donating $250,000 to the Don’t Tax My Credit Union campaign, Williams shared.
“I believe, and many of the indicators show, that there will be an even greater need with low market consumers, with members living paycheck to paycheck, to aid them in the future. And I believe that the work we are doing here best positions credit unions to continue to be a solution to that problem.”
Interview with Kyle Hauptman
Fresh off his appointment on January 20th, the next guest was NCUA Board Chairman Kyle Hauptman (though, as he notes, you can call him, “the honorable” instead). Hauptman sat down with Nussle to discuss not only the regulatory concerns of credit unions and his priorities as Board Chairman, but also the uncertain future of the NCUA itself, as executive orders threaten its ability to operate as an independent regulator and as speculation of consolidation calls the fate of the organization into question.
On the topic of the NCUA’s future, Hauptman declined to speculate or advocate for one outcome or another, noting that while he does not shy away from controversial topics, he keeps himself from getting into debates when he has no authority over the outcome. The fate of the NCUA, he argues, is outside his control and lies in the hands of Congress and the White House.
“Congress created the NCUA in 1970, and there were 27,000 credit unions operating before then…my only view on it is that it is important for people to understand that credit unions are different. So whoever in the future is going to be regulating needs to be aware of this.”
Instead of focusing things outside his purview, Hauptman made it clear he and the NCUA are keeping their eyes on the ball and following the organization’s true north: protecting the 4,500 credit unions and the $8.3 trillion in assets out there.
“Yes, there’s a lot of stuff coming out of the White House right now, but we know what our true north is.”
Hauptman went on to discuss the path forward and how he aims to achieve his goals for the organization, despite still being the minority Republican outnumbered 2-1. Hauptman argued that while it certainly can make things more challenging, the NCUA board is much less partisan than most and board members voting down party lines is not a given.
Already, Hauptman has been successful in achieving a few of his priorities, namely in terms of regulation and reporting. On the topic of regulation, Hauptman believes that now is the perfect opportunity to achieve “right-sized regulation” as opposed to over-regulation or one-size-fits-all regulation. Furthermore, he expressed his support for overdraft protection, arguing that the government has no business calling such fees predatory when they themselves impose strict and unforgiving fees.
To that end, Hauptman announced that the public listing of overdraft and NSF fee income is officially gone—an announcement that brought a wave of celebration and cheers throughout the room.
Chief Advocacy Officer Carrie Hunt takes the stage
Shifting gears from the NCUA to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—a longtime credit union opponent that is currently undergoing massive changes under the new administration—Chief Advocacy Officer of America’s Credit Unions, Carrie Hunt, came to the stage to discuss these changes and the future of the CFPB.
Hunt shared ACU’s original recommendations for the organization at the start of the administration, which included returning to the original mission the CFPB was charged with when Congress created it back in 2011: “to reign in bad actors and unsupervised entities.”
Credit unions, as traditional financial institutions and followers of the cooperative model, should be exempt from the CFPB’s one-size-fits-all regulations which do not account for the credit union difference, ACU argues. Instead, the bureau should exert its authority on “predatory non-bank lenders which exploit consumers with high fees and limited protections.”
These recommendations, Hunt noted, came before the sweeping changes, but remain true nonetheless. And while it is safe to say change will continue to come for the CFPB, Hunt and America’s Credit Unions stressed that only Congress holds the authority to dissolve the CFPB, not the Executive Branch, a move ACU feels is unlikely—though it does believe that a smaller CFPB is on the horizon.
Finally, Hunt tackled the tax exemption issue, highlighting the same message as earlier speakers before making an announcement. To encourage credit unions to take part in grassroots advocacy, America’s Credit Unions announced the Franklin D. Roosevelt Award—in honor of the president whose signed the Federal Credit Union Act into law—that celebrates a grassroots champion within the movement. The award will be presented at the Congressional Caucus in the fall.
Looking to tomorrow
Well, that’s all we have for you today, readers! But not to worry, we’ll be back tomorrow to discuss all the goings on at day three of the Governmental Affairs Conference, including a peek into some breakout sessions and the address from keynote speaker of the day, Coach K! In the meantime, enjoy this video of the Nussle hustle.
