President Donald Trump has fired a nuclear regulatory commissioner whom he himself appointed to the agency at the end of his first term.
“President Trump terminated my position with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission without cause, contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees,” Chris Hanson, who served as chair of the commission until January 2025, wrote in a statement Monday.
Hanson was fired Friday, he said. Trump appointed Hanson to the commission in 2020, and former President Joe Biden elevated him to chair the agency in 2021. Hanson’s term as chair ended in January, and he returned to serving on the five-person board.