The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is nearing final plans to cut nuclear security and safety inspections and form a dedicated office for licensing advanced reactors as part of a broader reorganization pushed by the Trump administration.
The details come from a combination of public and internal documents reviewed by POLITICO’s E&E News. The proposals include reducing inspections at nuclear power plants, centralizing oversight responsibilities, eliminating the office that coordinates nuclear security and emergency response and creating a new office to streamline the licensing and oversight of new reactor technologies.
In May 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to supercharge the domestic nuclear power industry. Among the directives were a “wholesale revision” of NRC regulations, deadlines for it to complete reactor reviews and a reorganization of the agency.
The potential administrative changes are presented as “staff recommendations,” but three people at the agency, granted anonymity to speak freely, say leadership is describing the reorganization as a “flattening” aimed at increasing the agency’s efficiency. Staffers say they perceive the reorganization as more bureaucratic and political rather than changes to day-to-day job functions.
