Why It Matters
The Farm Credit Administration's three-member board has only one sitting member, serving on an expired term, and two vacant seats, leaving the regulator of the Farm Credit System and Farmer Mac without the quorum required by law to conduct business, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
The Farm Credit Administration board has been without a quorum since Glen R. Smith left after the Senate confirmed him as USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development on Aug. 7, reducing the board from two members to one.
On Sept. 28, President Trump nominated Carl Bednarski, John Grunewald II and James Russell Middleton to fill all three seats. Those nominations were referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and remained pending as of the report's Oct. 15 publication date.
The Big Picture
The Farm Credit Administration is an independent federal financial regulator with about 300 employees that sets policies, regulations, charters and examinations for Farm Credit System (FCS) institutions and Farmer Mac.
FCS had $457 billion in total loans outstanding as of Dec. 31, 2025, with agricultural loans accounting for approximately 63% of that portfolio at $289 billion. FCS provided 46% of loans on the sector-wide farm balance sheet at the end of 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Jeffery S. Hall, the sole remaining board member, has served for 10 years, making him the longest-serving member in FCA history. His term expired Oct. 13, 2018, and he has continued under a statutory provision allowing members to serve until a successor is confirmed.
President Trump designated Hall as chairman and CEO on Jan. 20, 2025. Vincent Logan resigned from the board on March 31, 2025, creating a vacancy, and Glen R. Smith left after his August 7, 2026, confirmation as USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development; two seats are currently vacant.
Among the three Trump nominees, Bednarski and Grunewald are Republicans and Middleton is a Democrat, satisfying the statutory requirement that no more than two board members come from the same party. The last cross-party nomination before this one came in 2015, when President Obama nominated Hall.
The Bottom Line
The three nominations remained pending before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee as of Oct. 15, with no confirmation action recorded. The two vacant seats leave the Farm Credit Administration board without the quorum required under 12 U.S.C. §2242(c) to conduct business. The Senate committee last held a nomination hearing for an FCA board member in 2022.
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