President Donald Trump has fired a Democratic commissioner for the federal agency that oversees nuclear safety as he continues to assert more control over independent regulatory agencies.
Christopher Hanson, a former chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said in a statement on Monday, June 16, that Trump terminated his position as NRC commissioner without cause, "contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees."
The firing of Hanson comes as Trump seeks to take authority away from the independent safety agency, which has regulated the US nuclear industry for five decades. Trump signed executive orders in May intended to quadruple domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years, a goal experts say the United States is highly unlikely to reach. To speed up the development of nuclear power, the orders grant the US energy secretary authority to approve some advanced reactor designs and projects.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in an emailed statement that "all organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction" and that the Republican president reserves the right to "remove employees within his own executive branch."
Trump fired two of the three Democratic commissioners at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an independent federal agency responsible for enforcing federal laws that prohibit discrimination in the workplace. In a similar move, two National Labor Relations Board members were fired. Willie Phillips, a Democratic member and former chairman of the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, stepped down in April, telling reporters that the White House asked him to do so.
Trump also signed an executive order to give the White House direct control of independent federal regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.
New Jersey Representative Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, called Hanson's firing illegal and another attempt by Trump to undermine independent agencies and consolidate power in the White House. "Congress explicitly created the NRC as an independent agency, insulated from the whims of any president, knowing that was the only way to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the American people," Pallone said in a statement. Senate Democrats also said Trump overstepped his authority. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Patty Murray and Martin Heinrich said in a joint statement that "Trump’s lawlessness" threatens the commission’s ability to ensure that nuclear power plants and nuclear materials are safe and free from political interference.
Hanson was nominated to the commission by Trump in 2020. He was appointed chair by President Joe Biden in January 2021 and served in that role until Trump's inauguration to a second term as president. Trump selected David Wright, a Republican member of the commission, to serve as chair. Hanson continued to serve on the NRC as a commissioner. His term was due to end in 2029.