Trump Fires NRC Democrat Amid Push to Overhaul Nuclear Safety Rules

In a controversial late-Friday move, President Trump dismissed Christopher Hanson, a Democratic member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)—an act legal analysts argue violates the commission’s independent status. The firing arrives amid broader efforts to purge Democrats from independent energy boards, and it could set the stage for a major legal showdown.

Hanson, a Trump appointee in 2020 who later served as NRC chair under Biden, publicly decried the dismissal as illegal. The White House claims the firing was within the president’s authority, citing the need for aligned leadership across executive agencies. But unlike most federal agencies, the NRC was designed as a politically insulated body with bipartisan balance.