A representative from the Department of Government Efficiency told the chair of the U.S. agency tasked with oversight of nuclear reactors that it expected the agency to provide a “rubber stamp” approval for new nuclear reactors tested by the departments of Energy and Defense, Politico reported.
Three people with knowledge of a May meeting said that Adam Blake, whom DOGE detailed to the Department of Energy, described a new approach for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to expedite nuclear safety assessments.
“DOE, DOD would approve stuff, and then NRC would be expected to just kind of rubber-stamp it,” one of the people familiar with the meeting told Politico.
The meeting came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on May 23 to supplant NRC’s role as the only agency to ensure that nuclear projects are safe and will not threaten public health. The commission is an independent agency that is tasked with protecting public health when it comes to nuclear power.
Two of the three people familiar with the conversation said that Blake specifically used the term “rubber stamp” in a meeting that included NRC Chairman David Wright, senior staff at NRC and Department of Energy officials.
Trump’s executive order stipulated that NRC could not revisit issues assessed by the Department of Energy or the Pentagon, but people familiar with the meeting said that Blake and officials from the Department of Energy suggested that NRC’s secondary assessment should be a foregone conclusion.
The executive order and staff departures have concerned some nuclear experts about the White House asserting control of what should be an independent agency.
“The NRC is working quickly to implement the executive orders reforming the agency and modernizing our regulatory and licensing processes,” NRC spokesperson Maureen Conley said. “We look forward to continuing to work with the administration, DOE and DOD on future nuclear programs.”
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Trump has previously said that he wants to quadruple the supply of nuclear power in the United States by 2050. His allies in the technology industry, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and congressional Republicans have all criticized the NRC for what they consider a slow approval process.
Since then, the administration dismissed Christopher Hanson, a Democrat on the committee that Trump nominated and whom Joe Biden made chairman.
Hanson called the dismissal “without cause, contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees.”
David Wright’s confirmation through the Environment and Public Works Committee came last week after Democrats criticized a “hostile takeover” of the NRC by the Trump administration.
The NRC was created under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. The Trump administration’s orders required that the staff at the NRC undergo a “substantial reorganization” with turnover and assignment changes. This comes as both Democrats and Republicans have expressed interest in nuclear energy.
