The White House promised today that a new nominee to lead the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would emerge "soon" following the resignation of Gregory Jaczko, plagued by accusations of mismanagement and bullying during a three-year tenure also marked by vocal advocacy for stronger safety standards.

As Republicans applauded Jaczko's decision to bow out and Democrats charged the GOP with pushing out the chairman to appease the nuclear industry, the battle lines are forming for a fight over how to replace the former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) while handling the renomination of NRC Commissioner Kristine Svinicki -- an ex-GOP aide whose banner Republicans have hoisted.

Jaczko's resignation, announced early today, kept most lawmakers publicly focused on his record rather than a potential successor. White House spokesman Clark Stevens said in a statement that President Obama "appreciates Chairman Jaczko's service and efforts to further the mission of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- to license and regulate the nation's use of nuclear materials."

"A strong and effective NRC is crucial to protecting public health and safety, promoting defense and security, and protecting the environment, and we intend to nominate a new chairman soon," Stevens added.

Jaczko's term was set to expire in June 2013, but he said in stepping aside that he would leave as soon as a new chairman is approved by the Senate. The Environment and Public Works Committee has yet to announce a hearing on Svinicki's renomination, however, amid criticism of the GOP nominee from Reid and Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

Whether a new chairman can win confirmation before Election Day, given the delay in taking up Svinicki and the already intense partisan gridlock in the upper chamber, remains to be seen.

But one Senate aide closely involved in NRC issues described the resignation as an "opportunity," given that the safety-minded Jaczko first walked the path to confirmation alongside Svinicki.

"If you were able to pair [Svinicki] with a strong nominee for the chairmanship, you might have a package that could potentially move" through even the political quicksand of the pre-election season, the aide said, speaking candidly on condition of anonymity.

Key to winning support from Reid, Boxer, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other Svinicki skeptics will be naming a new chairman whose safety record is seen as equal to Jaczko's. Elevating a current commissioner such as William Magwood, a Democrat who joined in criticizing Jaczko's management style and has voted against some safety reform proposals, the Senate aide added, would be a nonstarter.

"Magwood's record is just deplorable," the aide said, adding, "I can't see any scenario" in which his elevation could successfully advance alongside Svinicki's reconfirmation.

Why now?

Some sources say the chairman's resignation was prompted by the circulation of an NRC inspector general report that could shine a negative light on Jaczko and the Obama administration heading into a tough election year.

The chairman held a hastily arranged news conference last month in which he denied accusations by Magwood and other colleagues that he bullied NRC female staffers and confirmed the inspector general was conducting an investigation (Greenwire, April 20).

"The IG report clearly should have been done by now; I understand it's been done," said Lake Barrett, former head of the Energy Department's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. "I'm sure that report is not flattering for the chairman or the administration." A top NRC aide said the chairman had not yet seen the report.

Some senior Democrats contend the chairman was pushed out of his position for taking a firm position on nuclear safety and trying to bring about change in the safety culture at NRC.

"For his efforts to hold the nuclear industry accountable, Chairman Jaczko was subjected to repeated personal attacks made by some of his colleagues and pro-industry advocates in Congress," Sanders said in a statement. "I am extremely disappointed he is leaving the Commission."

Reid did not address the ongoing controversy surrounding the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada -- which Jaczko helped shut down and continues to fuel Democratic concerns with Svinicki.

After thanking his former aide for focusing on improving nuclear safety, Reid said in a statement he expects that the chairman's successor will share a strong commitment to protecting the public over the nuclear power industry.

Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said Jaczko was right to step down after several reports surfaced that he withheld information on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump. He was also accused by his colleagues -- two Republicans and two Democrats -- of withholding information, bullying staff and creating a "chilled" work environment.

"Throughout his time at the NRC, it was abundantly clear that Chairman Jaczko used his office to undermine the NRC to the point that all four of his fellow commissioners wrote to the president to ask for assistance as a last resort," Inhofe said in a statement. "With his resignation today, the NRC can focus on its mission of safety without the distractions of Jaczko's inappropriate behavior."

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Jaczko's decision to step down closes "an ugly chapter," disputing the Democratic contention that Jaczko's safety record had earned him influential enemies.

"This was never about nuclear safety, but rather poor leadership that created an abusive and hostile work environment," Issa said in a statement.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the top Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, hailed Jaczko's departure and called for a quick reconfirmation of Svinicki, whose term expires at the end of next month.

Moving her nomination through the Senate that quickly, however, could rest in large part on the speed and reception for Jaczko's replacement.

Safety focus

Jaczko said in a statement that the agency under his leadership responded with "an impressive focus" to last year's nuclear disaster that erupted in Japan. A magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in March 2011, triggering core meltdown in three reactors, a radioactive release and multiple evacuations. NRC also responded promptly to floods, earthquakes and tornadoes that damaged reactors across the country, Jaczko said.

The agency is in the process of creating new rules to ensure that U.S. reactors can withstand floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters that could cut power to the facilities.

The Nuclear Energy Institute in a statement acknowledged having had "significant differences" with Jaczko on how best to ensure reactor safety but "to his credit we've always had open lines of communications and a willingness to respectfully discuss the issues."

NEI applauded his "unswerving commitment to nuclear safety, especially in the aftermath of Japan's nuclear crisis."

Jaczko said he will continue to oversee the safety of the country's 104 operating nuclear reactors until his successor is confirmed. He is scheduled to visit the Summer plant between Columbia, S.C., and Charlotte, N.C., tomorrow.

Jaczko has often touted his firm stance on nuclear safety and said in a statement that NRC under his leadership swiftly responded to last year's Japan disaster.

"In addition to this vigilant oversight, together we identified and began to implement lessons learned from Fukushima and completed our rigorous safety reviews for the first new reactor licenses in 30 years," Jaczko said. "We stand as a stronger and more decisive regulator now because of these years of efforts. I am truly humbled by the agency's success."

Jaczko said it has been an "honor and privilege" to serve as NRC chairman.

"I will always be grateful for the opportunity of having served alongside the staff for all of these years, and for all that we accomplished together," he said. "I am looking forward to bringing all I have learned from my work and focus on safety at this agency with me as I move forward."