Micah Jonah
February 5, 2026
The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission has announced plans to reorganize its operations in line with President Donald Trump’s push to accelerate the licensing and deployment of nuclear reactors.
The regulator said the reorganization is aimed at speeding up decision making while maintaining safety standards, as the administration pursues an ambitious plan to significantly expand nuclear power capacity across the country.
According to the commission, new leaders will be appointed to oversee reactor safety programmes, while a revised organizational structure and management plan will be developed within 60 days. The NRC said it hopes to implement the changes by the end of September.
President Trump has set a target of quadrupling US nuclear power capacity to about 400 gigawatts by 2050, citing rising electricity demand driven by data centres supporting artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency operations. In May last year, he directed the NRC to reduce regulatory bottlenecks, cut the reactor licensing process from several years to about 18 months.
NRC Chairman, Ho Nieh said the agency is entering a critical phase in its history and that the reorganization would allow it respond more efficiently to national energy priorities.
He explained that the restructuring would focus on accelerating the safe deployment of nuclear technologies and improving consistency in how safety programmes are applied across the agency’s regional offices.
Under the new framework, the commission will be reorganized around three core areas: new reactors, operating reactors, and nuclear materials and waste.
Officials have acknowledged that the changes could require additional staff. A spokesperson for the NRC said the agency is still in the early stages of implementation, has not yet determined whether workforce numbers will increase.
However, the plan has drawn criticism from some quarters. Former US Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz has warned that rushing approvals and weakening the independence of the nuclear regulator could result in the deployment of advanced reactors with unresolved safety and security concerns.
Despite these concerns, the Trump administration maintains that modern nuclear technology is critical to meeting future energy needs and reducing reliance on fossil fuels, insisting that safety will not be compromised in the drive for faster approvals.
