Trump signs executive orders that White House says will boost nuclear energy

By Kit Maher, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump signed four nuclear energy-related executive orders on Friday that will speed up reactor testing, allow the Departments of Energy and Defense to build nuclear reactors on federally owned land, overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and boost the United States’ mining and enrichment of uranium, a senior White House official said.

The president also signed an order to restore what the White House called “gold-standard science,” which comes as the administration has cut billions in federal grants that fund scientific research and slashed staffing at several science-focused agencies.

“We’re signing tremendous executive orders today that really will make us the real power in this industry, which is a big industry,” Trump said during an Oval Office signing ceremony.

The actions come as Trump’s proposed budget calls for cutting over $400 million from the Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum — who, along with nuclear energy company executives, joined Trump in the Oval Office — lamented what he said has been “over regulation” and heralded venture capital investment in the industry. He went on to praise Trump for committing to “energy dominance” that he said would allow the US to “win the AI arms race with China.”

“What we do in the next five years related to electricity is going to determine the next 50,” he added.

One nuclear-related executive order speeds up reactor testing at Department of Energy national laboratories, expediting applications and review processes and enabling a pilot program for construction over the next two years, the official told reporters ahead of the Oval Office signing. A second order aims to reduce regulations for the Departments of Energy and Defense to build nuclear reactors on federal land, which the official said would allow “for safe and reliable nuclear energy to power and operate critical defense facilities and AI data centers.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pointed to what he said is a national security imperative.

“By having small modular nuclear capabilities, which are rapidly being fielded, that we can use on our bases here and around the world, we’re creating an environment where, if things happen elsewhere, the military can be reliable,” he said.

A spokesperson for the White House Office of Science and Technology said the new reactors would be “small and advanced.”

Trump will also require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission – the federal body that licenses nuclear reactors – to make decisions on nuclear reactor licenses within 18 months through a third executive order.

A fourth order “is focused on reinvigorating the US nuclear industrial base,” which the official said will allow the US to “start mining and enriching uranium and expanding domestic uranium conversion and enrichment capacities.”

However, the US is years away from getting its enrichment capabilities up and running at full capacity. As CNN has reported, until 2023, the US got the vast majority of its enriched uranium from Russia. A bipartisan law passed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put a stop to that, and scientists and companies are racing to produce it at home.

Trump wrote that the the administration seeks to “facilitate increased deployment of new nuclear reactor technologies, such as Generation III+ and IV reactors, modular reactors, and microreactors, including by lowering regulatory and cost barriers to entry,” and it also plans to increase US nuclear energy capacity from around 100 gigawatts to 400 gigawatts by 2050.

The executive orders do not include removing or replacing NRC commission members, the official said. But pressed on if the actions would result in any reduction in staff, the official said, “Reduction in staff is undetermined at this point, but the executive orders do call for a substantial reorganization of the organization.”

The text of the order reforming the NRC, released later Friday, said that “the current structure and staffing of the NRC are misaligned with the Congress’s directive that the NRC shall not unduly restrict the benefits of nuclear power,” directing them to consult with the Department of Government Efficiency to “reorganize the NRC to promote the expeditious processing of license applications and the adoption of innovative technology.”

“The NRC shall undertake reductions in force in conjunction with this reorganization, though certain functions may increase in size consistent with the policies in this order, including those devoted to new reactor licensing,” the order stated.

DOGE has been synonymous with sweeping cuts across the federal government.

The order aimed at reforming the NRC also said the organization “has failed to license new reactors even as technological advances promise to make nuclear power safer, cheaper, more adaptable, and more abundant than ever,” and calls for them to “adopt science-based radiation limits.”

“Instead of efficiently promoting safe, abundant nuclear energy, the NRC has instead tried to insulate Americans from the most remote risks without appropriate regard for the severe domestic and geopolitical costs of such risk aversion,” the order stated.

Asked about the timeline of getting new reactors online, the official said that the administration is looking to test and deploy nuclear reactors within the remainder of Trump’s term.

CNN’s Ella Nilsen contributed to this report.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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