With Connery departure, DNFSB slips to 2 members, loses quorum

With the retirement of chair Joyce Connery on Friday, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) is down to two members and no longer has a quorum.

The five-member panel with a mission to provide independent safety analysis and advice to the Department of Energy, now has only two members: Acting Chair Thomas Summers and board member Patricia Lee. As required by DNFSB rules, the board “has formally notified Congress of this development,” DNFSB said in a Monday news release.

“The DNFSB will continue its critical mission of protecting public health and safety at the nation’s defense nuclear facilities while awaiting the appointment of additional board members,” the press release goes on to say.

After 20 years of federal employment, Connery retired from the government on Jan. 31. She had in various nuclear and energy-related jobs during her federal tenure, including about a decade with the DNFSB.

The Joe Biden White House’s nomination of former DOE Environmental Management office chief William (Ike) White, did not receive a vote by the full Senate prior to adjournment of the last Congress.