In what some have deemed an illegal move, President Trump last week abruptly fired Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Christopher Hanson, whom he had appointed back in 2020 and whom President Biden had named as Chairman and reappointed just last year. To date there is no nominee to fill the now-empty position, which may be the subject of litigation.
Speculation is that Hanson and Trump had a conflict of vision about the independent agency’s mission. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly explained that “All organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction. President Trump,” she added, “reserves the right to remove employees within his own Executive Branch who exert his executive authority.”
Predictably, the anti-nuclear Union of Concerned Scientists issued a statement from Edwin Lyman, its director of nuclear power safety, that Hanson’s firing and other Trump actions “could have serious implications for nuclear safety.” He bluntly added that the NRC should (over) protect health and safety “without regard for the financial health of the nuclear industry.” [Or, as the UCS would say: Not On Planet Earth.]
An irate Hanson threatened legal action, claiming his firing violated federal law and longstanding precedent. He justified his work at the NRC, stating his mission had involved "preserving the independence, integrity and bipartisan nature of the world's gold standard nuclear safety institution." Speculation is that, despite glowing speeches about the increased NRC workload emerging from the nation’s nuclear revival, he was not a happy warrior.
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