Washington — Christopher Hanson was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve as chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the NRC said Jan. 23 in a statement.
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Svinicki was originally appointed as a commissioner in 2007 by then President George W. Bush, making her the longest serving member of the commission in the agency's history.
Hanson said Jan. 23: "I look forward to building on Chairman Svinicki's many accomplishments as the commission takes on new challenges and faces new opportunities as nuclear energy technologies continue to evolve and uses of nuclear materials expand in the future."
The White House has not announced who will be appointed to fill the vacant fifth seat on the commission. The commission can continue to conduct business with a quorum of at least three commissioners.
Before joining the commission, Hanson was most recently a professional staff member on the Senate appropriations committee. Hanson was a senior adviser in the Office of Nuclear Energy at the US Department of Energy, and prior to that was a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.
Under the Atomic Energy Act, there can be no more than three NRC commissioners from any single political party and they serve staggered five-year terms. Commissioner Jeff Baran is a Democrat. Commissioners Annie Caputo and David Wright are Republicans.
Caputo's term expires June 30. Baran's and Wright's terms expire in 2023 and 2025, respectively.
NRC commissioners must be confirmed by the US Senate, but the president has discretion to appoint any currently serving commissioner chairman without further congressional approval.