Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

Kansas-based Kiewit Nuclear Solutions has picked Jeff Leita, formerly of Amentum, as vice president of markets and strategy for its Department of Energy management and operations business line, Kiewit said in a news release this week. Leita has much experience across the nuclear, federal and national security sectors, where he has led complex efforts and […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued the Bill Gates-backed nuclear reactor company TerraPower a construction permit for its Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyo. TerraPower, based in Bellevue, Wash., said in a Wednesday press release that it is the first commercial-scale advanced nuclear power plant to ever receive this permit. The company plans to convert […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright will hold a press conference at Holtec International’s shuttered Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, N.Y. on Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. While the Department of Energy’s Wednesday media advisory did not provide the specifics of Wright’s visit, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) will also attend the press conference. Lawler […]

Texas, home to commercial and government nuclear facilities, must wait until May to learn what Republican will square off against upstart Democrat James Talarico in November’s U.S. Senate election. Longtime GOP incumbent Sen. John Cornyn appears to have edged out state Attorney General Ken Paxton and finished far ahead of Rep. Wesley Hunt in Tuesday’s […]

The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee voted largely along party lines Wednesday morning to advance President Donald Trump’s nominees for under-secretary of energy as well as director of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) . Both Trump nominees Kyle Haustveit for under secretary of energy as well as Steve Pearce for BLM […]

The latest Air Force Minuteman III test on Tuesday featured multiple unarmed re-entry vehicles,according to the Air Force Global Strike Command said Wednesday. Air Force Global Strike Command’s (AFGSC) launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., of the Glory Trip 255 test at 11:01 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday included “two test re-entry vehicles,” AFGSC […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy said Tuesday it selected 46 domestic nuclear energy-related research projects to share a total of $52.8 million. The Office of Nuclear Energy said in its press release the awards support technology development and early career faculty research activities that contribute to President Donald Trump administration’s nuclear power […]

The Air Force broke ground Feb. 13 on a prototype silo for the Northrop Grumman LGM-35A Sentinel future intercontinental ballistic missile at the company’s Promontory, Utah, site, officials said at the Air & Space Forces Association’s warfare symposium. The prototype is to allow engineers to test and refine modern construction techniques, validating the new silo […]

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 15 – 4 Wednesday morning in favor of the renomination of Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Doug Weaver. Weaver, who was confirmed by the Senate in December, was renominated by President Donald Trump on Jan. 29 to serve a new term that will expire on June 30, 2031. […]

Reinhard Knerr, a Department of Energy executive who retired in January after more than a quarter-century federal career, is now vice president of technical services at Navarro Research & Engineering. Knerr announced his new position in a post on his LinkedIn page within the past week. “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new […]

The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office and its cleanup contractor will update stakeholders on storm water runoff issues Wednesday starting at 2 p.m. Mountain Time. Specifically, DOE and contractor Newport News Nuclear-BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) will discuss the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s storm water individual permit. The permit is issued through […]

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday said the U.S. military operation to strike Iran has utilized “classified effects,” with U.S. Central Command having also alluded to “special capabilities” it could not yet disclose publicly. Two days after initiating the strike campaign, Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed reporters […]

The Donald Trump White House nominated Preston Wells Griffith on Monday to be the United States ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The White House also nominated Griffith to be the U.S. ambassador to the Vienna Office of the United Nations.  Griffith served in the first Donald Trump administration, holding several senior roles at […]

The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station and nuclear startup company ZettaJoule have signed an agreement to explore constructing a gas research reactor at College Station, Texas. Founded in 2023, ZettaJoule is a small modular reactor developer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company also has offices in Japan. ZettaJoule will construct its research reactor, ZJ0, adjacent […]

Nicole Nelson-Jean, formerly the associate administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Office of Infrastructure, is now the principal associate administrator of NNSA’s Office of Environment, Safety and Health, according to her LinkedIn profile. A source told the Exchange Monitor Nelson-Jean will be deputy to Ahmad Al-Daouk, the associate administrator for the office.  Nelson-Jean’s […]

Cumulative cost and schedule overruns have increased since 2023 for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) portfolio of major projects in the execution phase, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). As of June 2025, the NNSA’s portfolio’s cumulative cost overrun has increased from $2.1 billion in 2023 to $4.8 billion, the […]

The Department of Energy’s projected cost for cleaning up the radioactive waste legacy of the Cold War and Manhattan Project continues to mount, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report made public this week. “As of May 2025, EM [DOE’s Office of Environmental Management] estimated that the remaining cleanup work at all its […]

President Donald Trump has directed federal agencies to “immediately cease” working with technology from artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has designated the company a “supply chain risk.” The Pentagon last July awarded Anthropic along with Google, OpenAI and xAI deals each worth up to $200 million to leverage their generative […]

Navy Vice Admiral Richard Seif relieved Vice Admiral Robert Gaucher as commander of Submarine Forces and Submarine Force Atlantic during a change of command ceremony Feb. 20 as the latter gets ready to become a new submarine leader. In January, the Senate confirmed Gaucher to become the first direct reporting portfolio manager for submarines, overseeing […]

Earnings fell at NuScale Power Corvallis, Ore., in the fourth quarter, which the small modular reactor (SMR) developer attributed to a reduction in revenue recognized from the RoPower technology license agreement made in 2024. Revenue for the fourth quarter ended on Dec. 31 were $31.5 million, down from $37 million in the year-ago quarter. General […]

The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the nomination of Steve Pearce, a former member of Congress from New Mexico, to head the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Pearce, a Republican, served multiple terms representing New Mexico’s second congressional district, which includes Carlsbad and Eddy County where […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has created a new Office of Advanced Reactors, as part of its reorganization. The Office of Advanced Reactors will handle licensing and oversight of new and advanced reactors, according to NRC’s Monday press release. The office will be in charge of the accelerated review of advanced reactor applications and deployment […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  March:  04: Hearing: House Armed Services Committee will hear testimony from secretaries from different arms of the military on energy, environment and installations at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on Capitol Hill. 05: Hearing: House Armed Services Committee will hear from Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary […]

Florida International University (FIU) will receive $20 million in financial assistance from the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management to support advanced nuclear cleanup technology, DOE said Friday. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management announced the five-year grant benefitting FIU’s Applied Research Center in a Feb. 27 press release. The five-year deal that starts Sunday […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a hybrid informational meeting March 12 at  2 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the agency’s approach to revising its regulations and oversight processes. The March 12 meeting will be held at NRC  headquarters in Rockville, Md. and can be viewed via Microsoft Teams. It will also have a question […]

Earnings rose at AtkinsRéalis Group Montreal, Canada in the fourth quarter, which the company attributed to the sustained demand for its engineering services and nuclear capabilities, according to its Feb. 27 press release. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 were (CAN) $95 million (US$69.5 million) or (CAN) $0.57 a share, up from […]