Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Key claim: Executive Order 14300, signed by President Donald J. Trump on May 23, 2025 (published in the Federal Register May 29, 2025), directs comprehensive reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to accelerate safe nuclear energy deployment and expand U.S. capacity toward 400 GW by 2050. It requires NRC reorganization (including with DOGE input), a wholesale revision of regulations and guidance within 18 months, fixed licensing deadlines (e.g., 18 months for new reactors), reconsideration of linear no-threshold radiation models, expedited pathways for DOE/DOD-tested designs, and other streamlining measures while preserving safety.

Abstract

Presidential Documents 22587Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 102 / Thursday, May 29, 2025 / Presidential Documents Executive Order 14300 of May 23, 2025 Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose. Abundant energy is a vital national- and economic- security interest. In conjunction with domestic fossil fuel production, nuclear energy can liberate America from dependence on geopolitical rivals. It can power not only traditional manufacturing industries but also cutting-edge, energy-intensive industries such as artificial intelligence and quantum com- puting. Between 1954 and 1978, the United States authorized the construction of 133 since-completed civilian nuclear reactors at 81 power plants. Since 1978, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has authorized only a frac- tion of that number; of these, only two reactors have entered into commercial operation. The NRC charges applicants by the hour to process license applica- tions, with prolonged timelines that maximize fees while throttling nuclear power development. The NRC has failed to license new reactors even as technological advances promise to make nuclear power safer, cheaper, more adaptable, and more abundant than ever. This failure stems from a fundamental error: Instead of efficiently promoting safe, abundant nuclear energy, the NRC has instead tried to insulate Ameri- cans from the most remote risks without appropriate regard for the severe domestic and geopolitical costs of such risk aversion. The NRC utilizes safety models that posit there is no safe threshold of radiation exposure and that harm is directly proportional to the amount of exposure. Those models lack sound scientific basis and produce irrational results, such as requiring that nuclear plants protect against radiation below naturally occur- ring levels. A myopic policy of minimizing even trivial risks ignores the reality that substitute forms of energy production also carry risk, such as pollution with potentially deleterious health effects. Recent events in Europe, such as the nationwide blackouts in Spain and Portugal, underscore the importance of my Administration’s focus on dispatchable power generation—including nuclear power—over intermittent power. Beginning today, my Administration will reform the NRC, including its structure, personnel, regulations, and basic op

Why this matters

Executive Order 14300, signed by President Donald J. Trump on May 23, 2025 (published in the Federal Register May 29, 2025), directs comprehensive reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to accelerate safe nuclear energy deployment and expand U.S. capacity toward 400 GW by 2050. It requires NRC reorganization (including with DOGE input), a wholesale revision of regulations and guidance within 18 months, fixed licensing deadlines (e.g., 18 months for new reactors), reconsideration of linear no-threshold radiation models, expedited pathways for DOE/DOD-tested designs, and other streamlining measures while preserving safety.

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