President Donald Trump nominated mechanical engineer and nuclear industry veteran Douglas Weaver to an open seat on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday.
Weaver is neither a prominent figure nor unknown among nuclear energy regulators. He spent nearly two decades at the NRC, including as deputy director of the spent fuel storage and transportation division. His 37 years of experience also included roles in the U.S. Navy Nuclear Power Program and as a vice president of regulatory affairs at nuclear companies Holtec International and Westinghouse Electric.
“I do not know him, but I’ve been briefed on his background,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, told POLITICO’s E&E News. “It seems like he’s very well qualified, having been at the NRC himself. So I’m sure I’ll have more detail of him when he comes before committee.”
The Environment and Public Works panel vets NRC nominees before they go to the Senate for final confirmation. Last month, the committee voted with bipartisan support to advance Ho Nieh, another NRC veteran and an executive for Southern Nuclear, to fill a seat on the panel left when Trump fired Democratic Commissioner Christopher Hanson in June.
