The Trump administration is scrambling to fortify nuclear fuel supply chains to match the rising interest in nuclear to feed soaring electricity demand.

Why it matters: U.S. nuclear power plants source about one-quarter of their enrichment services from Russia, the world's largest supplier of enriched uranium.

• The nuclear industry — facing a hard ban on importing Russian uranium at the end of 2027 — has been pressing for more than a year for the Energy Department to pay out $3.4 billion for uranium enrichment.

Driving the news: The DOE said this week that it's seeking U.S. companies to build and operate nuclear fuel production lines that the agency will authorize as part of a new pilot program.

• The program was set in motion by White House nuclear executive orders in May that set a goal of deploying reactors on military sites by 2028.
• Those orders established a DOE-DOD partnership that will tap existing DOE uranium stockpiles to supply the first batch of reactors.

Zoom in: The DOD-hosted reactors will rely on processing some DOE-owned highly enriched uranium into a lower-enriched fuel that civilian reactors use, said Jeff Waksman, acting assistant Army secretary for installations, energy and environment.

• "We need to partner with [DOE] not only in order to get uranium but also to dispose of the uranium," Waksman told me.

The big picture: The harder challenge is what happens beyond 2030.

• To seed a self-sustaining fuel enrichment industry, Congress approved $2.7 billion last year for uranium enrichment for the current nuclear fleet and for advanced reactors.
• That came on top of the IRA's $700 million for fuel enrichment. Lawmakers initially authorized the DOE's advanced nuclear fuel program in 2020.

Friction point: Since getting those funds from Congress last year, the agency has faced calls to quickly disburse the awards to scale up enrichment.

• "We're still waiting to see some more concrete action there," said John Kotek, a senior vice president at the Nuclear Energy Institute.
• The executive orders show "a recognition within the federal system that they need to get on with it, and so I do think that that is going to light a fire under the system that maybe didn't exist previously."

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Congress last month the agency is working with "a bunch of great, innovative companies with a lot of private capital behind them."

• The DOE announced in April that it would distribute a first round of advanced nuclear fuel — from the agency's stockpiles — to five developers as early as this fall.
• The agency also extended a contract with Centrus Energy to continue production of enriched fuel at its Ohio plant.

And House appropriators today are weighing a fiscal 2026 bill that would increase DOE funding for fuel availability.

President Trump today nominated attorney and former administration official David LaCerte to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Why it matters: LaCerte's selection is a surprise pick for FERC, because he's not well-known in D.C. energy policy circles.

• LaCerte is being nominated to fill the vacant seat left by Democrat Willie Phillips, who has said the White House asked him to leave the commission.
• If confirmed along with nominee Laura Swett, the commission would shift to a 3–2 Republican majority.

Context: The White House wants FERC to do more fast-tracking of fossil fuels to shore up electricity grid shortfalls, leading some agency watchers to fear the energy regulator will become politicized.

• That approach follows its decision not to renominate FERC Chair Mark Christie, who staved off deep DOGE cuts.

Zoom in: LaCerte was most recently a special counsel investigating energy issues for Baker Botts.

• He was a contributor to the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 blueprint for Trump's second term.
• LaCerte also served as senior adviser, executive counsel to the chairman, and acting managing director of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, where he oversaw the agency's response to chemical accidents and incidents.
• He served as a deputy associate director at OPM in Trump's first term and as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs.

🚫 1. Rescission risks: The Senate voted overnight to rescind $9 billion in previously appropriated funding, including a $125 million Clean Technology Fund that supported projects in emerging markets and low-income countries.

• More rescissions could be coming, OMB Director Russ Vought told reporters this morning: "The appropriations process has to be less bipartisan," he said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast.

💻 2. Digital permitting: Reps. Scott Peters and Dusty Johnson introduced a bill that would digitize the federal permitting process, reducing processing time for all permits, including NEPA reviews.

🌊 3. Another offshore headwind: Three Republicans requested a national security investigation into potential national security threats posed by offshore wind farms.

• Rep. Chris Smith told me yesterday he expects the DOD to act soon.

⛏️ 4. Ambling along: The Interior Department yesterday announced the transfer of 28,000 acres of federal land in Alaska at the western end of the proposed Ambler Road corridor.