NRC Commissioner Hanson terminated by President Trump

Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Christopher Hanson was fired late Friday by President Donald Trump, according to Hanson’s Monday LinkedIn post.

“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,” Hanson said. 

A NRC spokesperson confirmed the termination of Hanson as a NRC commissioner took place on June 13. 

“The NRC has functioned in the past with fewer than five commissioners and will continue to do so,” the NRC spokesperson added.

Hanson was sworn into the NRC in June 2020 after being nominated by Trump and was appointed by President Joe Biden to chair the agency in January 2021. He served as the NRC chair from January 2021 to January 2025.

“Hanson was re-nominated and confirmed to his seat by the Senate last year, and his term runs through 2029,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) said in a news release. “Illegally firing Commissioner Hanson imperils Trump’s own so-called ‘energy dominance’ agenda and is a gross abuse of power that could imperil the safety of nuclear power,” Pallone said. 

Hanson’s NRC term was due to end on June 30, 2029.

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said on Monday that “all organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction,” according to a report by Politico. Kelly added that President Trump “reserves the right to remove employees within his own Executive Branch who exert his executive authority.”

In February, Trump’s administration issued an executive order that gave the Office of Management and Budget power over the regulatory process that was previously reserved to independent agencies, including the NRC. Additionally, the administration issued another executive action on May 23 to overhaul the independent agency in 18 months.

In April, Hanson questioned the certainty of the future of the independent agency under the Trump administration during a moderated panel at the 2025 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.

Some figures in the nuclear industry took issue with the firing of Hanson.

Under Hanson’s post, former NRC commissioner Stephen Burns commented, “I am saddened that this administration has no respect for independent agencies. I thank you [Hanson] for your service at the [Nuclear Regulatory] Commission, guiding the agency as chair and as commissioner.”

Director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists Edwin Lyman said Hanson’s firing further undermines the independence and integrity of the NRC.

“The loss of such a highly knowledgeable and fair-minded individual will imperil the public from coast to coast as the White House continues to compromise the safety and security of the U.S. nuclear fleet,” Lyman said in a Monday press statement. 

This is a developing story.