Trump expels all but one member of nuclear waste oversight board
The Trump administration has dismissed seven of the (formerly) eight board members of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, the independent federal agency tasked with evaluating the technical and scientific validity of Department of Energy activities related to managing and disposing of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.
In an email to Nuclear Newswire, NWTRB Director of External Affairs Christopher Burk said that, on July 16, the White House sent emails to board members Richelle Allen-King, Miles Greiner, Silvia Jurisson, Nathan Siu, Seth Tuler, Scott Tyler, and Brian Woods dismissing them immediately.
“As a result, Dr. Peter Swift, board chair, is the sole member of the board. The NWTRB staff and funding have remained in place,” Burk wrote.
In January, the White House Office of Personnel Management sent an email to nine of the then 10 serving NWTRB members asking them to resign. Swift was not asked to resign. Following that request, ANS member Lake Barrett, who was appointed to the board in 2024, and Ronald Ballinger, who was appointed in 2022, left the board.
Typically, the NWTRB comprises 11 members who serve on a part-time basis. Members are appointed to four-year terms by the president from a list of candidates submitted by the National Academy of Sciences. Nominees to the board are selected solely on the bases of established records of distinguished professional service and eminence in a field of science or engineering.
Immediate effect: In response to questions from Nuclear Newswire, Daniel Ogg, the NWTRB executive director, said that the immediate impact on the board and its work will be limited. Full-time staffing will remain at its 2024 levels, and the board continues to be funded in fiscal year 2025 at levels similar to FY 2024. Going forward, however, “the scope and pace of board activities may be diminished,” he explained. This includes the amount of interaction the board will have with the DOE.
“The board has consistently received feedback from the public, members of Congress, and other stakeholders that its public meetings, letters, and reports help keep stakeholders informed regarding DOE activities and help build confidence in DOE’s plans and path forward regarding nuclear waste management—because the board maintains an ongoing, independent, and expert evaluation of DOE activities,” Ogg said. “Diminished board activity may diminish the level of confidence that the public and other stakeholders have in DOE activities related to nuclear waste management.”
Ogg added that currently, the NWTRB continues to plan for its summer 2025 meeting, scheduled for August 27 in Arlington, Va.
SCOTUS blessing: The NWTRB dismissals follow the Supreme Court’s July 8 decision to lift a lower court’s order that had blocked President Trump’s executive order directing large-scale reductions in force across federal agencies. The Supreme Court ruling temporarily allows the Trump administration to continue its efforts to reorganize the federal workforce under the Department of Government Efficiency initiative while merits-based legal challenges to the planned reductions are pending.
