Budget & Policy

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), an advocate for environmental cleanup at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site, said in a statement Monday he will not run for re-election in November 2022. “This doesn’t mean I’m leaving now – I still have two more years in my term and I intend to use that time to get […]

The energy and defense mix on the House Appropriations Committee, at least its leadership, will remain essentially unchanged in the 177th Congress, according to rosters released by Democrats and Republicans this week. Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) will remain chair and ranking member, respectively, of the House Appropriations energy and water development […]

Ohio State Sen. Mark Romanchuk (R) has introduced a bill to nullify part of a controversial law that, according to the state’s attorney general, would allow FirstEnergy Corp. to reap more than $100 million in profit from financially troubled nuclear power plants operated by a former subsidiary. The company is allowed to collect the money […]

The House Energy and Commerce Committee released their subcommittee assignments Thursday, including picks for the energy and environment panels with jurisdiction over nuclear waste agencies and programs. In a full committee organizational meeting Thursday afternoon, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the chair, reviewed the assignments, which revealed no major change in Democratic leadership for either subcommittee. […]

The Biden administration selected Commissioner Christopher Hanson to become the 18th chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the agency announced last week.  Hanson, one of the four current commissioners, is chairman effective immediately, according to an agency press release. He replaces former chair Kristine Svinicki, who left the commission on Jan. 20. “I look forward […]

The Department of Energy should use consent-based siting to find a permanent geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel, Jennifer Granholm, President Biden’s energy secretary nominee, said Wednesday. The former Michigan governor told Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at her confirmation hearing that “site-based consensus strategies” are […]

Jennifer Granholm, President Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of energy, vowed Wednesday that cleaning up the Hanford Site would be a top priority if she is confirmed by the Senate. “You have my assurance that this is going to be a priority,” Granholm, the former Michigan governor, said in response to questioning from Sen. Ron […]

Ohio State Sen. Mark Romanchuk (R) has introduced a bill to nullify part of a controversial law that, according to the state’s attorney general, would allow FirstEnergy Corp. to reap more than $100 million in profit from financially troubled nuclear power plants operated by a former subsidiary. The company is allowed to collect the money […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this morning is considering the nomination of Jennifer Granholm, President Joe Biden’s choice to be secretary of energy. The hearing that started at 9:30 a.m. is being broadcast live on the committee’s website and marks the nominee’s first public appearance before a major congressional panel. Granholm, a Democrat, […]

James Biggins is now listed as the acting general manager of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, according to an organizational chart released late last week. Biggins has served as a special assistant to the chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) since September 2018 and has also served as general counsel and […]

The energy and defense mix on the House Appropriations Committee, at least its leadership, will remain essentially unchanged in the 177th Congress, according to rosters released by Democrats and Republicans Monday. Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) will remain chair and ranking member, respectively, of the House Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee. […]

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), an advocate for environmental cleanup at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site, said in a statement Monday he will not run for re-election in November 2022. “This doesn’t mean I’m leaving now – I still have two more years in my term and I intend to use that time to get […]

The Biden administration selected Commissioner Christopher Hanson to become the 18th chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the agency announced Saturday.  Hanson, one of the four current commissioners, is chairman effective immediately, according to an agency press release. He replaces former chair Kristine Svinicki, who left the commission on Jan. 20. “I look forward to […]

Here are some public events related to defense- and civilian-nuclear matters that the ExchangeMonitor staff is tracking this week. January 25 The Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Eastern Time today. 27 The West Valley Citizen Task Force is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. To register for […]

A Democratic House staffer who has worked the nuclear weapons and strategic systems portfolio for the House Armed Services Committee for a decade has taken a Pentagon post with a similar bailiwick in the Joe Biden administration. Leonor Tomero will be deputy assistant director for nuclear and missile defense programs after inauguration day, the administration […]

Donald Trump appointee Charles Verdon has taken over as acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, the semi autonomous Department of Energy nuclear-weapons agency confirmed Friday. Meanwhile, David Huizenga, No. 3 at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its top career official, will take over as acting Secretary of Energy until the Senate […]

Federal career man William ‘Ike” White, who has acted as the top boss at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management since June 2019, remains in the top job during the early stages of the administration of President Joe Biden. Meanwhile, outside DOE, the new administration appointed Joyce Connery as the new chair of […]

The Ohio Attorney General’s office is seeking an injunction against FirstEnergy Corp. and Energy Harbor from being guaranteed an income of $102 million annually — a guarantee stashed away in the fine print of the scandal-plagued nuclear bailout legislation, Ohio House Bill 6. Signed into law in 2020, House Bill 6 provides a $150 million […]

As of Friday morning, the Biden administration had not nominated either a fifth Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair or a fifth commissioner to replace the recently departed chair. So, while we wait, here’s where things at the nation’s nuclear rulemaking agency stand, and what’s at stake for the industry during Biden’s first 100 days. Former NRC […]

Former Department of Energy official Dr. Rita Baranwal broke a year of social media silence this week to announce that she is filling a senior position at the Electric Power Research Institute, her new professional home post-Trump administration. Baranwal joined the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) as the chief nuclear officer and vice president of […]

David Huizenga, the No. 3 official at the National Nuclear Security Administration, will take over as acting Secretary of Energy until the Senate confirms President Joe Biden’s nominee for the post, former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), the administration said Wednesday. Granholm is scheduled for a Jan. 27 confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy Natural […]

Editor’s note: Joe Biden was sworn in Wednesday as the 46th President of the United States, meaning that President Donald Trump and his cabinet have left town, including Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillettee. Biden has selected former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) as his Secretary of Energy. She is scheduled to have a confirmation hearing […]

Former Department of Energy official Dr. Rita Baranwal broke a year of social media silence Wednesday to announce that she is filling a senior position at the Electric Power Research Institute, her new professional home post-Trump administration. Baranwal joined the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) as the chief nuclear officer and vice president of the […]

A Democratic House staffer who has worked the nuclear weapons and strategic systems portfolio for the House Armed Services Committee for a decade will get a Pentagon post with a similar bailiwick in the Joe Biden administration. Leonor Tomero will be deputy assistant director for nuclear and missile defense programs after inauguration day, the publication […]

The Ohio Attorney General’s office is seeking an injunction against FirstEnergy Corp. and Energy Harbor from being guaranteed an income of $102 million annually — a guarantee stashed away in the fine print of the scandal-plagued nuclear bailout legislation, Ohio House Bill 6.  Signed into law in 2020, House Bill 6 provides a $150 million […]

William Bookless will resign as acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration on inauguration day, Jan. 20, setting up career civil servant David Huizenga to shepherd the nuclear-weapons agency through the early days of the Joe Biden administration. Bookless announced his impending departure Monday in an all-hands memo to National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) […]

Jamie Shimek will remain clerk of the House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee, providing a modicum of stability for Washington nuke watchers scrambling to update their contacts list ahead of the transition to the Joe Biden administration. Shimek joined the committee that writes each year’s first draft of the Department of Energy annual budget bill […]

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall is officially headed to the National Security Council, ending for now any prospects of a return to the Department of Energy, where the nonproliferation and weapons-of-mass-destruction policy hand was second-in-command during the Obama administration. The Biden transition team officially announced the move Wednesday, which media had reported earlier. Sherwood-Randall will be homeland security […]

In the wake of the Jan. 6 riot and takeover of the U.S. Capitol Building, and the public rancor which preceded it, several companies doing business in the Department of Energy weapons complex are reconsidering their approach to political donations. For example, Leidos Chairman and CEO Roger Krone announced Tuesday his company’s political action committee […]

With the Donald Trump administration coming to an end in less than a week, longtime cleanup hand Todd Shrader is expected to take over as acting head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management office until President-electric Joe Biden has his own people in place. An industry source on Monday said to expect […]