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Christopher Hanson, whom the president appointed to the independent, bipartisan board in 2020, said he was terminated in a July 13 email ‘without cause.’
President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order related to the nuclear power industry in the Oval Office on May 23, 2025. Win McNamee/Getty Images
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Among President Donald Trump’s four May executive actions seeking to “reinvigorate” the United States’ nuclear energy industry was one “ordering the reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” the president-appointed but independent five-seat regulatory board that oversees safety in nuclear energy development.
The president took a step in reforming the commission, led by Democrats 3–2, on June 13 when he fired Christopher Hanson, a Democrat he appointed in 2020 and who served as commission chair under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025, without any public announcement or accompanying statement on why.
