A US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) official has been assigned to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the purpose of carrying out President Donald Trump’s agenda of reforming the commission, according to The Hill.
David Wright, renominated to NRC by President Trump, told the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, in written responses to questions, that “there is currently one staff member detailed to the NRC from [the Department of Energy].” Wright said that the staffer is detailed to the Office of the Executive Director for Operations.
A source familiar with the matter told The Hill that the DOGE lead at NRC is named Adam Blake and that he is tasked with implementing President Donald Trump’s Executive Order directing ” NRC to work with DOGE to reform the organisation’s structure and accelerate permitting”. The Executive Order also calls for personnel at NRC’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards to “be reduced to the minimum necessary” to comply with law.
The order states that the NRC “shall, in consultation with the NRC’s DOGE Team … reorganise the NRC to promote the expeditious processing of licence applications and the adoption of innovative technology”.
The source said in a Signal message that the appointment is “not normal” and that nothing like it has happened in the commission’s history. NRC is an independent agency. While Presidents can nominate commissioners, NRC does not answer directly to the President, unlike other administrative agencies.
NRC spokeswoman Maureen Conley said the commission is “working quickly to implement the Executive Orders reforming the agency” but declined to provide specifics on DOGE. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Administration, DOE [Department of Energy], and DOD [Department of Defense] on future nuclear programmes,” she said.
In his written responses, Wright told the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee that the DOGE staffer has met with senior staff but that he himself was “not present for any conversations between the one staff member and senior staff related to reassignment”.
He also said the staffer is detailed from DOE and does not answer to NRC. This provoked Senator Sheldon Whitehouse to describe the staffer’s presence as a DOE “hostile takeover” of NRC during a meeting in which he withdrew his support for Wright’s renomination to NRC. Whitehouse also questioned whether there is anyone who holds the staffer to account. “So who, then, supervises this DOGE staffer? Who holds this staffer to account? Is this staffer above the Chairman?” he asked.
The Senate’s Minority Report noted that Whitehouse had initially expressed his support Wright’s renomination, “but conditions at the NRC have worsened in recent weeks, and the Senator has become increasingly concerned that Wright will be unable to deliver on his commitments … to address upheaval at the agency and uphold its independence”.
Whitehouse said: “At no point during the NRC’s 50-year history has there been a greater need for leadership there than today. I stand by my statement during his nomination hearing: Mr. Wright is qualified to serve on the Commission. He came before our committee, however, not just as a nominee but as the present leader of the Commission. I hoped to see Chairman Wright rise to the occasion, but circumstances right now at the NRC continue to deteriorate. I cannot presently support his renomination.”
He continued: “What’s happening right now makes me increasingly concerned that [Wright] simply will not execute on his statements. If we can turn the tide and shore back up the NRC’s independence, I would be very glad to reconsider my present position…. I very much want to get to ‘yes,’ but the behaviour that we’re seeing at the NRC presently makes that impossible.”
Whitehouse voted against confirming Wright and urged his colleagues to do the same. However, the nomination passed out of Committee on party-line votes of 10-9 and was sent to the full Senate for consideration.
Meanwhile, NRC’s three Commissioners released a joint statement expressing their alignment and commitment to working collegially to lead the agency. “Consistent with recent White House Executive Orders and the bi-partisan ADVANCE Act, the NRC is taking bold steps to embrace innovation, accelerate licensing timelines, and modernise the regulatory framework.”
The 2023 ADVANCE (Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy) Act, focuses on accelerating the deployment of advanced nuclear energy technologies. It aims to streamline the licensing process for new nuclear facilities, particularly advanced reactors, and provide incentives for their development and deployment. The bill also addresses issues related to nuclear fuel, international cooperation, and the cleanup of former nuclear sites.
NRC said its recent actions and accomplishments include:
- Adoption of innovative approaches to complete recent new reactor reviews ahead of schedule and under budget, updating schedules for ongoing new reactor and license renewal reviews to reflect the 18- and 12-month deadlines detailed in Executive Order 14300. For example, NRC recently established an 18-month review for Dow’s Project Long Mott advanced reactor design; set a 17-month review for a construction permit for Tennessee Valley Authority’s Clinch River small modular reactor; and accelerated the construction permit review of TerraPower’s Kemmerer Power Station by six months.
- Publication of the fiscal year 2025 final fee rule reducing hourly rates for advanced nuclear reactor applicants and pre-applicants for certain activities, as required by Section 201 of the ADVANCE Act.
- Provision of direction on factory fuel loading of micro-reactors, resolving key policy issues for micro-reactor deployment.
- Issue of service life extensions for VC Summer and Perry NPPs, ahead of schedule and under budget. “Altogether we’ve renewed operating licences for 97 reactors and approved second extended licences for 13 more – preserving 2,200 years of reactor operating capacity to meet the country’s energy needs.”
- Publication of a direct final rule in the Federal Register to extend Design Certification durations from 15 to 40 years.
- Refocusing of Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards reviews to concentrate on only novel and noteworthy issues.
The mission statement said: “Today’s NRC remains focused on protecting public health and safety while efficiently regulating the civilian use of nuclear materials and enabling the deployment of nuclear power for the benefit of society. We look forward to working with all stakeholders, and meeting this moment with the urgency it demands and the unity it deserves, while continuing to set the standard as a world class regulator.”
