President Donald Trump intends to nominate a Democratic Party staffer on the Senate Appropriations Committee to fill a vacancy on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the White House announced Friday.
There was no word from the White House regarding the schedule for the formal nomination of Christopher Hanson.
Hanson said by email Friday he had no information on the timing and could not otherwise comment. He would fill out a term on the commission through June 30, 2024, following the retirement on April 30, 2019, of Stephen Burns.
Hanson “is an energy policy professional with more than two decades of experience in nuclear energy, fuel cycle, security, and radioactive waste issues,” the White House said in its intent to nominate announcement.
Since February 2015, he has been a professional staff member on the Senate Appropriations energy and water subcommittee, with areas of focusing including storage and disposal of spent fuel from nuclear power plants, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that he spent nearly six years at the Department of Energy, ending with a 14-month stint on detail to the Appropriations Committee. His government service followed more than a decade in the private sector, including as an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a total of five members, serving staggered terms of up to five years. No more than three members can represent one political party.
Current Chairman Kristine Svinicki and Commissioners Annie Caputo and David Wright are Republicans, while Commissioner Jeff Baran is a Democrat. Burns was an independent.
Nominees must be confirmed by the Senate, starting with the upper chamber’s Environment and Public Works Committee.
Wright’s current term ends on June 30, but he has been nominated to a full five-year term through June 2025. The Environment and Public Works Committee is reportedly planning a nomination hearing later this month, but it had not been formally scheduled as of Monday.
The panel has scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. Wednesday on oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
