JACZKO, REID HINT THAT FINDING NEW NRC CHAIRMAN COULD TAKE A WHILE

Though Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Gregory Jaczko has submitted his resignation, his departure is contingent on a successor being named by the President, then confirmed by the U.S. Senate—a process that could take some time. Comments by both Jaczko and his former boss and current political advocate Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in the days following the announcement hint that they believe that process could take up to a year, keeping Jaczko in as chairman until his term expires, in June 2013. “It’s important to have a successor who will be strongly focused on safety and that process can take time, and I wanted the White House and the Senate to have ample time to find somebody,” Jaczko said in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek May 21. “If that happens in the next couple of weeks, that’s great. If it takes a little bit longer or if it takes even until June of next year I’m perfectly fine with continuing to serve in a job I really enjoy tremendously.” However, White House assistant press secretary Clark Stevens told RW Monitor this week that a successor would be chosen in short order. “The President appreciates Chairman Jaczko’s service and efforts to further the mission of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission—to license and regulate the nation’s use of nuclear materials. … We intend to nominate a new chairman soon.”