President Donald Trump removed Christopher T. Hanson—a Democrat and former chair—from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the federal watchdog tasked with overseeing nuclear safety.
Hanson’s term was set to run until June 13, 2029.
The administration recently issued sweeping executive orders aimed at accelerating nuclear power approval and enhancing “energy dominance,” signaling a broader agenda to streamline government and cut bureaucratic red tape.
Hanson released the following statement on Monday:
“Late on Friday, President Trump terminated my position with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission without cause, contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees.
My focus over the last five years has been to prepare the agency for anticipated change in the energy sector, while preserving the independence, integrity, and bipartisan nature of the world’s gold standard nuclear safety institution. It has been an honor to serve alongside the dedicated public servants at the NRC. I continue to have full trust and confidence in their commitment to serve the American people by protecting public health and safety and the environment.
I was nominated to the Commission in 2020 by President Trump and I was renominated by President Biden in 2024—passing reconfirmation in the U.S. Senate by a vote of 81 to 17. President Biden designated me Chair in January 2021 and I served in that capacity until January 2025.”
By ousting a commissioner appointed in part by Biden, Trump is rebalancing the NRC toward a unified, results-driven direction.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the action, stating, “All organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction,” adding that Trump “reserves the right to remove employees within his own executive branch.”
Politico reported:
Hanson was tapped to be the chair of the NRC by former President Joe Biden in 2021. He was originally nominated to the commission by Trump in 2020.
Hanson was later replaced in the top spot when Trump selected then-Commissioner David Wright to serve as chair during his second administration.
Trump has sought more control over independent agencies since he returned to office, and his push has so far been supported by the Supreme Court. In May, the justices issued a two-page unsigned order declining to reinstate two members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board that he had fired, even though federal law bars the president from dismissing the officials for political reasons.
Hanson spoke out after Trump issued an executive order in February seeking to bring independent agencies under control of the White House.
“As a five-member bipartisan commission, the agency was deliberately structured by Congress to promote independence from outside influences that might turn the focus away from safety,” Hanson said at the agency’s annual regulatory conference in March. “This was a purposeful lesson learned from the days of the Atomic Energy Commission and implemented through the creation of the NRC.”
