Illustration: Tiffany Herring / Axios
The NRC is in a "strong position" to accelerate reactor licensing, Chairman David Wright told senators Wednesday, rebutting Democrats' criticisms that a White House overhaul will slow approvals.
Why it matters: The Trump administration's plans to deploy next-generation reactors target NRC for "total and complete reform" and shift the short-term focus to other agencies' licensing authorities.
- Wright's appearance before Senate Environment and Public Works came after the White House fired a Democratic commissioner this month, raising alarms among Democrats about politicization.
Driving the news: Wright — a Republican who's been nominated for another term — trumpeted the NRC's progress in reviewing decisions and said the commission is actually primed to grow its advanced reactor office.
- "The advanced reactor side of our house is a shining star," Wright said. "We're ahead of the game in every area.… We're not going to be the problem."
Yes, but: Some in the White House view NRC as a roadblock.
- Trump's recent nuclear executive orders will bring "a robust organizational change that will deliver an NRC in the future that looks very different than the NRC of today," a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Axios last week.
- The NRC should be "an organization that removes obstacles instead of builds barriers," said the official, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity to discuss future plans.
Reality check: Some nuclear industry observers say soaring costs — not NRC regulators — are to blame for the slow pace of reactor deployment.
The other side: EPW Ranking Member Sheldon Whitehouse said the White House "has upended progress in a flamingly partisan manner.… I hope you can address the current upheaval quickly."
- Sen. Alex Padilla said he's concerned that the White House EOs shift nuclear licensing responsibilities too far to the DOE, "essentially turning the NRC into a rubber stamp rather than a trusted safety regulator."
- And Sen. Ed Markey, a longtime NRC critic, pressed Wright on White House plans that he believes "cut corners while ignoring community concerns" and said, "You're going to be under pressure."
The big picture: The NRC is seeking to implement the ADVANCE Act — landmark bipartisan legislation passed last year that envisions the commission playing a central role.
- The EOs are "aligned with the ADVANCE Act but must be carefully implemented to create durable, predictable policies for nuclear licensing," said EPW Chair Shelley Moore Capito.
- Capito told reporters after the hearing that she's not worried about the agency's independence after the firing of Democrat Christopher Hanson, who served as NRC chair under former President Biden.
What he's saying: "Nobody's asked us to compromise safety in any way," Wright said.
- "What I've seen so far and have been involved in with my colleagues, it's been about process more than anything else," he said, as well as "trying to align our stuff within the agency so that we can be more efficient, which was the goal of the ADVANCE Act."
