Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is shopping around for industry partners to invest between $5 million and $10 million in an “incubator” for startup businesses aimed at areas such as nuclear energy and cyber security. In exchange for the seed investment, the startups would gain access to Idaho National Laboratory’s “world-class facilities and […]

A bipartisan group of Congressional representatives want to expand the National Nuclear Security Administration’s authority to develop counter drone technology, according to a press release by Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.).  The Nuclear Ecosystem Drone Defense Act (NEDD) was introduced by: Reps. Lee and Mark Amodei (R) from Nevada, Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), […]

Twenty attorneys general filed a motion with a U.S. District Court in Maryland Monday seeking a nationwide preliminary injunction against the Department of Energy and other federal agencies blocking mass firing of probationary employees without due process. It is part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Maryland Attorney General […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a solicitation that makes $900 million available through federal funds to support the deployment of small modular reactors (SMR). Originally issued in October 2024, the DOE announced the reissue of the solicitation on Monday as the agency works to better align with the Donald Trump administration’s agenda to […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration, in an online procurement notice, indicated it will stick with Germantown, Md.-based Project Enhancement Corporation to continue its enterprise-wide strategic planning for the agency. The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Policy and Strategic Planning posted a limited-sources justification on sam.gov March 20 for a contractor to support document development […]

Two former high-ranking members of the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch who took some variant of the White House’s buyout program say on social media they are open to new professional opportunities. Candice Roberston, the recent former head of DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM), as well as Mike Budney, former EM operations boss […]

Former Rep. Mia Love (R-Utah), the first black Republican Congresswoman, died at age 49 on Sunday following a battle with brain cancer.  Love, who represented the 4th Congressional district of Utah from 2015-2019, passed away on Sunday in Saratoga Springs, Utah, according to her X account where her family announced it.  Love served as a […]

24: Earnings call: Oklo reports on financial results in an earnings call with analysts scheduled for 2 p.m. Pacific Time, 5 p.m. Eastern Time.  26: A federal court hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. ET in Baltimore on a potential preliminary injunction request that could put restrictions on future mass reductions in force at the […]

The lease for a Department of Labor office set up in Richland, Wash., to handle claims from workers made ill from nuclear weapons-related work at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, could be on the chopping block, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said last week. In addition to the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, the White […]

Oklo Inc. has lined up a key agreement with the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory to assist the company’s plans to build its first advanced nuclear plant at the site. The agreement ensures that Oklo, an advanced nuclear technology company based in California, will commit to follow the “strict environmental guidelines”  throughout the various […]

President Donald Trump has his eyes on the coveted Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant as part of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an Oslo press conference Thursday. The two leaders have been discussing a limited ceasefire for the past week focused on energy infrastructure, after Russian president Vladimir Putin […]

Ian Bennitt, a special assistant to President Donald Trump and senior director for White House shipbuilding and maritime initiatives, is leading the administration’s new Office of Shipbuilding, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) said this week.  Wittman, vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee, told reporters, including Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily, following remarks at this […]

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) has recommended Congress and the Department of Energy (DOE) formally start planning for a permanent geologic repository for nuclear waste. The Technical Review Board said it is seeking a “workable pathway” to site, license, build and operate the facility for spent fuel and high-level waste, but is not […]

The story “Livermore crews prepare to remove slab at Building 251” [Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, March 19, 2025] should have said that the University of California System is a member of the Lawrence Livermore National Security contractor team. 

CHANTILLY, VA – Amentum has announced Corhyn Parr as its vice president of international development on Tuesday. Parr previously served as the CEO of Nuclear Waste Services, a subdivision of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and was the director of Integrated Waste at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. “I am thrilled to join Amentum at […]

In response to a recent environmental report, Santa Fe County commissioners reportedly plan to raise concerns about impacts of a potential expansion of the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory on regional resources. According to an article last week in the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, the county commissioners are preparing to respond to […]

The Government Accountability Office last week said the National Nuclear Security Administration could do more to develop a resiliency strategy to mitigate risks to its explosives supply chain, manufacturing and infrastructure. According to a report published March 12, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found 66 total risks, identified by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), […]

The Government Accountability Office said last week that the National Nuclear Security Administration and six of its management and operating contractors incorrectly reported small business contracts awarded in fiscal 2018-2022. According to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) March 13, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded $1.1 billion of its $16.8 […]

Work crews at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California will soon start removing the concrete slab from the site of Building 251, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said Tuesday. Once the slab is gone, Building 251 or the Heavy Elements Facility will become available for future work by DOE and its […]

Reps. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) criticized the Department of Government Efficiency last week, around the time DOGE began reviewing contractors to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s franchise. According to publication Semafor, which broke the story last week, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created by President Donald Trump and led by Trump […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently published the 2024-2025 edition of its Information Digest.  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has been publishing the digest since 1989 and it now comes out every two years. The Digest includes information pertaining to the agency’s activities, responsibilities and offers general information on nuclear-based topics. In addition to NRC […]

Local development officials in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state remain cautiously optimistic a major new solar power project envisioned for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site will happen despite a change in administrations. Officials at DOE and the Chicago-based developer, Hecate Energy, both declined comment last week. Also last week, Roger Jarrell, a DOE […]

The Department of Energy said Monday it is awarding Holtec the second phase of a federal loan, this chunk worth nearly $57 million, to go toward reviving the closed Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan. Providing it wins the necessary Nuclear Regulatory Commission approvals, the 800-megawatt facility would effectively become the nation’s first restart of […]

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) who served on the House Natural Resources Committee has died at age 77 apparently from complications from lung Cancer treatments, media outlets reported recently. “Representative Grijalva was like no other — an exceptional, unforgettable human being shaped by hardscrabble economic struggle long before he ever was elected to Congress,” Rep. Marcy […]

Former U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), the first woman to control Congressional purse strings, died over the weekend at age 87 after a battle with breast cancer, major news outlets reported over the weekend. Lowey, a former chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, spent several terms in Congress, but decided not to seek re-election […]