This Is Bad, Really Bad

[Editorial]

I worked in the nuclear industry for almost 30 years, and I find this downright scary. One thing I’ve always respected when dealing with the NRC is their professionalism. I’ve been in meetings with the head of the South Korean NRC, and I’ve also been audited by the U.S. NRC. So when I read this, it sent shivers down my spine. I’ve always believed that safety was the number one priority... but now, it seems profit is king.

DOGE Goes Nuclear: How Trump Invited Silicon Valley Into America’s Nuclear Power Regulator

Pro Publica

by Avi Asher-Schapiro

March 20, 2026

Reporting Highlights

• Fast Nuclear Buildout: The Trump administration is rapidly rewriting rules to support the development of nuclear power plants.
• Aligning With Industry: Staffers from DOGE are revamping rules in ways to ease regulations and provide financial breaks for industry.
• “No Longer Independent”: Nuclear Regulatory Commission veterans say the administration is limiting oversight in dangerous ways.

I'll tell you this, the bullet points put profits over safety!

Energy gathered at the Idaho National Laboratory, a sprawling 890-square-mile complex in the eastern desert of Idaho where the U.S. government built its first rudimentary nuclear power plant in 1951 and continues to test cutting-edge technology.

On the agenda that day: the future of nuclear energy in the Trump era. The meeting was convened by 31-year-old lawyer Seth Cohen. Just five years out of law school, Cohen brought no significant experience in nuclear law or policy; he had just entered government through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team.

As Cohen led the group through a technical conversation about licensing nuclear reactor designs, he repeatedly downplayed health and safety concerns. When staff brought up the topic of radiation exposure from nuclear test sites, Cohen broke in.

“They are testing in Utah. … I don’t know, like 70 people live there,” he said.

These people are not interested in safety! These people are in it for the profits! Safety cost $$$$!

The NRC has critics, especially in Silicon Valley, where the often-cautious commission is portrayed as an impediment to innovation. In an early salvo, President Donald Trump fired NRC Commissioner Christopher Hanson last June after Hanson spoke out about the importance of agency independence. It was the first time an NRC commissioner had been fired.

During that Idaho meeting, Cohen shot down any notion of NRC independence in the new era.

“Assume the NRC is going to do whatever we tell the NRC to do,” he said, records reviewed by ProPublica show. In November, Cohen was made chief counsel for nuclear policy at the Department of Energy, where he oversees a broad nuclear portfolio.

I’m telling you... this is bad.

Even more troubling, long-time staff have been pushed out and replaced with people who seem more interested in profits. They fired 443 seasoned employees and replaced them with just 57 handpicked newcomers.

This could lead to another Chernobyl. There, operators disabled key safety systems to carry out a test—why? To cut costs and avoid relying on expensive backup power.

Now we have a group of people who lack deep industry or safety experience, yet are under pressure to squeeze more profit out of the industry, particularly to meet the demands of energy-hungry AI systems.

A ProPublica analysis of staffing data from the NRC and the Office of Personnel Management shows a rush to the exits: Over 400 people have left the agency since Trump took office. The losses are particularly pronounced in the teams that handle reactor and nuclear materials safety and among veteran staffers with 10 or more years of experience. Meanwhile, hiring of new staff has proceeded at a snail’s pace, with nearly 60 new arrivals in the first year of the Trump administration compared with nearly 350 in the last year of the Biden administration.

Are you scared yet? I am!

[/Editorial]