President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill the fifth and final open seat on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission made his pitch to skeptical Democrats during a confirmation hearing Wednesday, pledging firm support for safety and the agency’s independence.
Douglas Weaver — a decadeslong veteran of both the NRC and the nuclear industry — faced sharp questioning from Democrats who have repeatedly raised alarms about what they view as the White House’s growing influence over the independent regulator.
Lawmakers pressed Weaver on whether he would resign if ordered to compromise on safety decisions or if he would commit to reversing staff reductions linked to the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative.
“My question for [Weaver] is whether he will have the backbone, the courage at the NRC to choose safety over pressure from the Department of Energy as it engages in a bureaucratic capture effort or DOGE as it does its thing of general destruction of government operations,” said Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
