Politics

Trump signs executive orders to expand US nuclear energy, science standards

Trump signs executive orders to expand US nuclear energy, science standards 

Elise Winland
Elise Winland
· 3 min read
Trump signs executive orders to expand US nuclear energy, science standards

President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders Friday to revitalize the US energy sector by expanding nuclear energy production and restoring integrity to federally funded science.

The four energy-focused orders represent what the White House called the most significant regulatory reforms in decades. They authorize new reactor construction on federal land, streamline Department of Energy research protocols, overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and expand domestic uranium mining and enrichment.

“Over the last 30 years, we stopped building nuclear reactors in America – that ends now,” said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology. “These actions are critical to American energy independence and continued dominance in AI and other emerging technologies.”

Kratsios emphasized the administration’s push to reestablish a secure, sovereign nuclear fuel supply chain and reassert US leadership in next-generation energy.

Trump was joined at the signing ceremony by top nuclear industry executives — including Joseph Dominguez of Constellation Energy, Jacob DeWitte of Oklo, and Scott Nolan of General Matter — as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

“Just like car engines need fuel, nuclear reactors need fuel,” Nolan said. “Right now, the U.S. is completely dependent on other countries to make the key step of enrichment…and these Executive Orders are going to pave the way for the U.S. to regain its lead.”

Meanwhile, Hegseth connected the move to the administration’s broader artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions. 

“We’re including artificial intelligence in everything we do,” he said ahead of the signing. “If we don’t, we’re not fast enough. We’re not keeping up with adversaries. You need the energy to fuel it. Nuclear is a huge part of that.”

Republican Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee praised the move on X, writing, “President Trump knows nuclear energy is essential to securing America’s long-term energy independence and national security.”

In addition to the nuclear directives, Trump signed a fifth executive order establishing “Gold Standard Science” protocols for federally funded research. According to a White House statement, the order seeks to rebuild “public trust in the national science enterprise.” 

“Gold Standard Science is just that — science that meets the Gold Standard,” Friday’s statement reads. “It’s reproducible, transparent, falsifiable, subject to unbiased peer review, clear about errors and uncertainties, skeptical of assumptions, collaborative, interdisciplinary, accepting of negative results, and free from conflicts of interests.”

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