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The Senate confirmed its first nominee of the week ahead of what is expected to be a jam-packed schedule to ram through as many of President Donald Trump’s picks as possible.
David A. Wright, Trump’s pick to lead the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a five-year term, was confirmed in the upper chamber on a 50 to 39 vote on Monday. It’s not Wright’s first time as chair of the commission, having first served in the role beginning in 2020.
KEY TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY SENATE DEMS PUTS PRESSURE ON GOP LEADERS
President Donald Trump speaks as he welcomes the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles NFL football team to the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Trump had previously tapped Wright during his first term, and again selected him to lead the NRC earlier this year. His new term is set to end in 2030.
The NRC is an independent regulatory agency tasked with regulating commercial nuclear power plants, reactor licensing and renewal and other elements related to protecting public health and safety when it comes to nuclear energy. Wright’s confirmation comes on the heels of Trump’s announcement that the U.S. and European Union were entering a trade deal that would see the bloc purchase $750 billion of U.S. energy over the next three years.
While the commission is independent from other arms of the government, Senate Democrats have balked at recent attempts to make the regulatory body, in their view, more partisan.
‘ALL THE OPTIONS’: GOP EYES CUTTING AUGUST RECESS TO MOVE DOZENS OF TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY DEMS
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., leaves the Senate Democrats’ lunch in the Capitol on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order that demanded the agency consider making its safety standards less stringent, shortening the timelines for environmental reviews…
