On June 16, Trump fired Christopher Hanson, who was a chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Hanson accurately called the firing illegal and against precedent. Representative Frank Pallone defended Hanson, accurately stating that the illegality of the firing stems from the NRC being an independent agency created by Congress.
The firing is in line with the Trump administration’s dramatic reinterpretation of the Constitution, which is in favor of an imperial presidency. Regarding the firing, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated that the President had the right to “remove employees within his own executive branch.” Legally, this is not true.
The firing put Trump’s hypocrisy on full display, as Trump hired Hanson himself in 2020. Though the reason for the firing was unclear, its results speak to the partisanship behind the decision. The panel of five that oversaw the NRC consisted of a majority of Democrats before Hanson’s firing. Now, it consists of two Democrats and two Republicans. The NRC will continue to function with less than five members on its panel.
