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Critics warn that the United States may soon be taking on more nuclear safety risks after Donald Trump fired one of five members of an independent commission that monitors the country’s nuclear reactors.
In a statement Monday, Christopher Hanson confirmed that Trump fired him from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Friday. He alleged that the firing was “without cause” and “contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees.” According to NPR, he received an email that simply said his firing was “effective immediately.”
Hanson had enjoyed bipartisan support for his work for years. Trump initially appointed Hanson to the NRC in 2020, then he was renominated by Joe Biden in 2024. In his statement, he said it was an “honor” to serve, citing accomplishments over his long stint as chair, which ended in January 2025.
It’s unclear why Trump fired Hanson. Among the committee chair’s accomplishments, Hanson highlighted revisions to safety regulations, as well as efforts to ramp up recruitment by re-establishing the Minority Serving Institution Grant Program. Both may have put him in opposition to Trump, who wants to loosen regulations to boost the nuclear industry and eliminate diversity initiatives across government.
In a statement to NPR, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly suggested it was a political firing.
“All organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction,” Kelly said. “President Trump reserves the right to remove employees within his own Executive Branch who exert his executive authority.”
On social media, some Trump critics suggested that Trump lacked the authority to fire Hanson, arguing that Hanson could have ignored the email and kept on working, like the Smithsonian museum director whom Trump failed to fire. (And who eventually quit.)
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