On May 23, 2025, President Donald Trump signed four executive orders designed to boost the nuclear power energy industry in the United States. The executive orders recognize that advances in AI and other energy-hungry industries will require significant amounts of reliable electricity generation. Through these orders, the president targets several issues that hamper the growth of the nuclear industry, including regulatory, research and development, supply chain, and national security issues. Below is a summary of key points in the four executive orders.
Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Establishes U.S. policy seeking to increase new nuclear power generation from 100 GW today to 400 GW by 2050.
- Requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to update its regulations related to licensing, including the implementation of an 18-month deadline for licensing the construction and operation of new reactors and a process for high-volume licensing of microreactors and modular reactors. The NRC must issue notice(s) of proposed rulemaking within nine months, with final rules in place within 18 months.
- Orders the NRC to consider the benefits of increased availability of nuclear power to the U.S. economy and national security, in addition to health, safety and environmental considerations.
Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base
- Sets goals of 5 GW of power uprates to existing reactors and 10 new large reactors under construction by 2030 and directs the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Loan Programs Office and U.S. Small Business Administration to prioritize funding to support the nuclear energy industry.
- Orders an evaluation of national policy regarding management of spent nuclear fuel, including recycling and reprocessing.
- Initiates development of a plan to expand domestic uranium processing and enrichment for use as reactor fuel.
- Seeks to grow the workforce of the nuclear industry by directing the secretaries of labor and education to expand access to nuclear energy-related training and apprenticeship programs and ordering the secretary of energy to increase the availability of national laboratories to nuclear engineering students.
Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy
- Directs the establishment of a DOE pilot program for the construction and operation of at least three test reactors outside the national laboratories, with a goal of achieving criticality by July 4, 2026.
- Finds that the design, construction and operation of certain advanced reactors under sufficient DOE control — and which do not produce commercial electric power — are for research purposes, and thus under DOE jurisdiction.
- Initiates revisions of certain regulations to streamline the approval of reactors under DOE jurisdiction, including expediting or eliminating certain environmental reviews.
Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security
- Creates a program for deploying nuclear reactors on military installations within the next three years.
- Directs the secretary of energy to pursue nuclear reactors for powering AI data center infrastructure and designate certain data centers and nuclear reactors powering them as critical defense facilities.
- Makes available 20 metric tons of high-assay low-enriched uranium for privately developed nuclear projects to power AI infrastructure on DOE sites.
- Implements development of a strategy for increasing international cooperation to expand the nuclear industry with partner countries.
The directives in these executive orders will be implemented through regulatory action at several federal agencies, and details about how these policies will be enacted remain to be seen. It is clear that the Trump administration is focused on encouraging growth of the nuclear power industry in the United States. McGuireWoods will track executive or administrative action and the industry response.