NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION CHAIR DAVID WRIGHT RENOMINATED TO NEW TERM

On Monday (6/16) the White House renominated the current Chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), David Wright, to a new term that would extend until June of 2030. His nomination has been sent to the Senate, where no formal announcement has yet been made. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will be responsible for scheduling Wright’s hearing. 

The NRC will need experienced leadership in place to undertake a comprehensive review of its reactor licensing processes, which were mandated in an Executive Order (EO), “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission”, just last month (May 23, 2025). The EO directs the NRC, working with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to make a “wholesale revision” of its licensing regulations; issue proposed new rules within nine months to implement the review; and issue final rules within 18 months. President Donald Trump directed that the new policies must include fixed deadlines for the evaluation and approval of licenses and all other commission actions on proposed reactor operating licenses.

Wright delivered remarks at the ECA Forum: Moving New Nuclear Projects Forward in April, where he affirmed his support for the ADVANCE Act. Reforming the NRC to align with provisions laid out in the act is one of his top priorities as Chair, and would entail streamlining the advanced reactor permitting process and reducing licensing fees charged to developers.

During his remarks he said: “The NRC must advance, enable, the secure the use and deployment of nuclear in a safe way – that’s we should be doing, and that’s what we were initially charged with.” 

To learn more about the nomination and the changes at the NRC, consider reading this article from Politico.

To learn more about the last ECA Forum, click here. ECA will continue to provide updates on Wright’s nomination and confirmation as they develop.