The full Senate is expected to vote early next week on the nomination of Ho Nieh to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
The Senate will proceed to a roll call vote Tuesday Nov. 18 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, according to the Senate Cloakroom’s Monday post on X. If confirmed, Nieh will serve on a term that is set to expire on June 30, 2029. The Cloakroom is a social media site that monitors votes on the Senate floor.
In Nieh’s Oct. 8 nomination hearing, the former NRC staffer and current vice president at Southern Nuclear, told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that he would keep safety as the agency’s top priority. He also pledged to protect the agency’s independence.
On Oct. 29, Nieh passed through the Senate committee in a 13 – 6 vote. Nieh was the only nominee at the hearing to receive any bipartisan support. Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Alex Padilla (Calif.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) voted in favor of his nomination.
Prior to Nieh’s July nomination, former commissioners Annie Caputo and Christopher Hanson departed NRC. Hanson was terminated by President Donald Trump in June and Caputo announced her resignation in late July.
While Nieh is close to being voted upon by the full Senate, Trump nominated another former NRC staffer, Douglas Weaver, on Nov. 5 to serve as the potential fifth commissioner for NRC.