US NRC Commissioner Annie Caputo to leave agency June 30

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Annie Caputo will leave the commission when her term expires June 30, NRC Chairman Christopher Hanson said June 22.

The White House has not said when President Joe Biden will nominate Caputo's replacement to the five-member commission. Nominations of NRC commissioners must be approved by the US Senate.

The commission can continue to conduct business with a minimum quorum of three members.

Hanson was joined during an online briefing by commissioners Jeff Baran and David Wright in praising Caputo's service on the commission.

Caputo thanked the commissioners and NRC staff, saying, "I definitely enjoyed my time here."

"We have the most talented staff here at the NRC, and I really have developed a huge respect for the staff in ways that I didn't have in my previous capacities and have relished working with them during my time here," she said.

Caputo was nominated in May 2017 by then-President Donald Trump, but her confirmation by the US Senate was delayed by several months. She was sworn in as a commissioner in June 2018 to complete a term than expires June 30, 2021.

Caputo's departure will leave the commission with two vacant seats. Under the Atomic Energy Act, no more than three NRC commissioners can be affiliated with any single political party, and they serve staggered terms, with one term expiring each year. Hanson and Baran are Democrats; Wright is a Republican.

Caputo, a nuclear engineer, was a majority senior policy adviser for nuclear issues for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that oversees NRC before joining the agency. Prior to that, she was a staffer for the House Energy and Commerce Committee and before that was congressional affairs manager for Exelon.

Caputo has not announced her future plans.