Stephen Burns retired Tuesday after nearly five years as a member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, including more than two years as chairman.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) noted Burns’ retirement during a Senate Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee hearing on the NRC budget plan for fiscal 2020. The agency then confirmed his departure, which Burns had discussed publicly at least since the start of the year.
“He’s well respected in every position he held and I’d like to thank Stephen Burns for his service to our country,” Alexander said.
Burns became an NRC commissioner on Nov. 30, 2014. His term was officially scheduled to end on June 30 of this year. Burns did not say why he left early, an agency spokesman said Thursday.
From January 2015 to January 2017, Burns served as NRC chairman. He was replaced in that role by Commissioner Kristine Svinicki just days after President Donald Trump took office.
Burns’ service as commissioner followed an extended career as a staffer at the nuclear industry regulator, starting as an attorney in 1978 and including a stint as executive assistant to Chairman Kenneth Carr, according to his agency profile. Burns was the NRC’s deputy general counsel from 1998 to 2009, then served as general counsel until he left in April 2012 to become head of legal affairs for the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Burns’ retirement leaves the commission with one Democrat, Jeff Baran, and three Republicans: Svinicki, Annie Caputo, and David Wright. No more than three commission members can come from one political party.
Senate Democratic Party leadership is believed to be preparing a list of potential candidates for nomination. There was no word this week from the White House or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) regarding the status of the process.
