A Senate hearing on Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair David Wright’s renomination for another term on the regulatory panel was overshadowed by Democratic accusations that the White House was undermining the agency.
Republicans, however, mostly shrugged at such assertions and said they weren’t worried about the NRC’s independence.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing came on the heels of President Donald Trump’s decision to fire NRC commissioner and former Chair Christopher Hanson.
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Democrats say that move was blatantly illegal, considering the president isn’t allowed to fire members of the independent agency without a specific failure of duty.
