A nominee to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission told senators that a member of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency has been assigned to the agency to oversee President Donald Trump's reform efforts.
David Wright's term on the commission expired June 30, but unlike at some other independent agencies, he could not continue serving after that date. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on June 25 held a hearing on Wright's renomination.
In a written response to questions from the committee provided after the hearing and obtained by Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, Wright, first confirmed to the NRC in 2018, said, "There is currently one [DOGE] staff member detailed to the NRC from the [US Energy Department] who is tasked with assisting in the implementation of Executive Order 14300."
Trump issued that executive order on May 23, calling for reforms to the NRC and saying he wanted to promote the development of the nation's nuclear power industry.
Wright said in the written responses that he was not aware of any plans for more DOGE staff at the NRC. The single staffer is detailed to the Office of the Executive Director for Operations and does not have an NRC supervisor since they are on detail from the US Energy Department.
The DOGE staffer "does not have the authority to hire, fire, promote or reassign personnel," Wright told senators. Senior NRC staff have met with the staffer and provided technical and operational support, including briefings and information related to the president's executive order.
The NRC is an independent agency established by Congress in 1974 to regulate but not promote the nation's civilian commercial, industrial, academic and medical uses of nuclear materials, including nuclear power plants. Commissioners are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, but the commission is not under direct executive branch control.
NRC reform
Since its creation in January, DOGE has facilitated mass staff dismissals, shut down programming and worked to dismantle or reorganize many federal agencies and government-funded organizations.
The May executive order on reforming the NRC directs the agency to "work with DOGE to reform the organization's structure and accelerate permitting." The order also directs the NRC to work with the DOE to accelerate pathways for reactors the department has already tested, DOE spokesperson Andrea Woods told Platts.
Trump's executive order asserts the NRC structure and staffing are "misaligned" with the congressional directive that the NRC shall not "unduly restrict the benefits of nuclear power."
According to the executive order, "the NRC shall, in consultation with the NRC's DOGE team ... reorganize the NRC to promote the expeditious processing of license applications and the adoption of innovative technology. The NRC shall undertake reductions in force in conjunction with this reorganization, though certain functions may increase in size consistent with the policies in this order, including those devoted to new reactor licensing."
Wright told senators he was not present for any conversations between the DOGE staffer and senior staff "related to reassignment." Several senior staff have made personal choices to leave the agency, Wright said.
The executive order also specifically takes aim at the NRC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, directing that it be "reduced to the minimum necessary."
Trump in June dismissed Christopher Hanson, the NRC's senior Democratic member and former chair. Hanson was appointed by Trump in 2020 and became chair under former President Joe Biden in 2021. His term expired in June 2024, but Biden renominated him. Hanson was confirmed by the Senate to another term.
The dismissal of a sitting commissioner from the NRC by the president is unprecedented. However, since returning to office Trump has also removed members from other independent agencies, actions that have been upheld by a federal appeals court.
With Hanson's departure and Wright's renomination pending, the commission has three members, the legal minimum to conduct business: Republican Annie Caputo and Democrats Bradley Crowell and Matthew Marzano.
'A step too far'
The Trump administration has put nuclear power development at the center of its "energy dominance" agenda, taking steps to foster investment in new and existing nuclear projects, reduce associated risks, streamline the domestic permitting process and enhance global supply chains.
Those efforts could be undermined if cuts to the DOE and elsewhere that have traditionally supported nuclear research and development materially impact administrative capacity, according to a report by Investing in Energy, a group within Commodity Insights.
The administration could risk undercutting its own agenda to promote nuclear power in the US through workforce cuts at the NRC and reductions in force across other federal agencies, Atlantic Council Nuclear Director Jennifer Gordon told Platts. Gordon said DOGE having oversight of the NRC is "a step too far."
"At face value, the NRC is being asked to do more with less, if those staff cuts really take place," Gordon said. "Even more concerning than the staff cuts is the notion of how independent will the NRC continue to be ... If we want to maintain our global edge and give other countries a compelling reason to work with us, then our NRC has to maintain its full independence."
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said in a July 9 hearing on Wright's renomination that "there are rogue actors operating within the agency, and its independence is in jeopardy." Whitehouse voted against Wright's renomination.
"If we can turn the tide and shore back up the NRC's independence, I would be very glad to reconsider my present position on Mr. Wright's renomination," Whitehouse said.
Wright's nomination passed out of committee along a party-line vote of 10-9 and now heads to the full Senate.
'Not a shortcut'
NRC spokesperson Scott Burnell told Platts the agency and the DOE are "working in close coordination to implement" the executive order.
To help expedite approval of reactor designs DOE has tested and found to be safe, the NRC is working with the DOE and the Defense Department to "align on the minimum standards necessary for reviewing and authorizing these designs," Burnell said.
That effort will help ensure reviews conducted by other federal agencies "are done using the same safety standards, allowing us to focus on any subsequent review on any new risks beyond those analyzed by DOE or DOD," Burnell said.
"This is a smarter, more coordinated use of government resources, not a shortcut," Burnell added. "This collaboration reflects a broader commitment to cutting red tape, not corners."
