Among President Donald Trump’s four May executive actions seeking to “reinvigorate” the United States’ nuclear energy industry was one “ordering the reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” the president-appointed but independent five-seat regulatory board that oversees safety in nuclear energy development.
The president took a step in reforming the commission, led by Democrats 3–2, on June 13 when he fired Christopher Hanson, a Democrat he appointed in 2020 and who served as commission chair under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025, without any public announcement or accompanying statement on why.
Trump selected Republican David Wright to serve as chair but did not name a replacement for Hanson, whose term was to expire in 2029, and who technically remains in the seat until June 30….