Drafts of executive orders reportedly circulating within the White House reveal a potential sweeping overhaul of U.S. nuclear power policy, with the aim of quadrupling nuclear energy capacity by 2040. The proposals, if enacted, would significantly shift authority to federal departments, streamlining approval processes for reactor designs and projects.
According to a review by Politico’s E&E News, four separate draft orders outline a plan to dramatically expand nuclear power by restructuring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), empowering the Department of Energy (DOE) to lead nuclear research and development, leveraging other departments to boost production, and having the DOE streamline the nuclear supply chain.
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These orders could potentially allow a second-term Trump administration to aggressively expand nuclear technology.
One draft proposes a “wholesale regulatory revision” of NRC rules within 18 months, requiring the NRC, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), DOE, and other agencies to collaborate.
This revision reportedly includes reconsidering the NRC’s radiation safety standard threshold, setting deadlines for license application reviews, accelerating approvals for reactors tested at DOE and Department of Defense (DOD) sites, and reducing the size of the NRC’s independent licensing review subset.
The NRC, established by Congress in 1974, is an independent agency responsible for setting safety standards and regulating commercial nuclear plants. All commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. require NRC licenses and adhere to its regulatory standards.
Other draft orders emphasize the need to power the rapidly expanding tech industry, with some categorizing energy expansion as a national security imperative.
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The second draft calls for the DOE to lead at least three pilot and demonstration reactor projects on federal lands and national laboratories, with a goal of completing construction by July 4, 2026. “The Department [DOE] shall approve at least three reactors pursuant to this pilot program with the goal of completing construction of each of the three reactors by July 4, 2026,” according to the draft.
The third draft proposes leveraging the DOD and the State Department to expand nuclear power. It calls for identifying nine military facilities, especially in the Arctic and Indo-Pacific, where advanced nuclear technologies can be immediately installed and deployed within 60 days. The draft also proposes that the Secretary of Energy “site, approve, and authorize the design, construction, and operation of privately-funded advanced nuclear technologies” at DOE sites to power AI infrastructure, classifying these as “critical” to national defense.
President Trump recently declared a national energy emergency, citing the “integrity and expansion of our Nation’s energy infrastructure” as “an immediate and pressing priority for the protection of the United States’ national and economic security.” This declaration also called for reducing “undue burdens” on the nuclear energy sector.
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The final draft order focuses on bolstering the energy supply chain, funding the reinstatement of closed nuclear plants, improving the “nuclear engineering talent pipeline,” and tasking the DOE with focusing on uranium enrichment and nuclear fuel recycling.
Critics, speaking to Politico, have expressed concerns about the potential for more lenient safety standards and federal micromanagement of the NRC, which they fear could diminish its efficiency and compromise safety.
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