Last Friday, President Trump signed four executive orders aimed at speeding up the development of nuclear energy in the United States.
The first order instructs the Department of Defense to deploy new reactor technologies at military bases. The second order, directed at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), imposes tighter deadlines for approving new reactor designs, requires a review of current radiation exposure standards, and calls for cuts in agency staffing.
The third order tells the Department of Energy to test and approve at least three new reactor models by July 4, 2026.
The fourth and most financially significant order includes three major actions:
- Federal funding for uranium fuel production, especially High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU),
- Construction of at least ten new gigawatt-scale reactors by the end of this decade,
- Development of reprocessing technologies for spent nuclear fuel.
In a bold statement, President Trump proposed expanding the nation’s nuclear power capacity to 400 gigawatts—about four times the current level—adding, “We’re not going to have cost overruns.”
What’s striking is that most of these policies were already introduced under the Biden administration’s ADVANCE Act, signed in July last year. That bipartisan legislation also promoted faster licensing of advanced reactor designs, deployment of microreactors, and approval of military-use reactors. It encouraged the use of former coal plant sites for nuclear projects and funded federal purchases of fuels like HALEU and TRISO, which are used in small modular and next-generation reactors.
The ADVANCE Act was a response to growing frustration with the slow pace of regulatory approval for advanced nuclear technologies. While both Biden’s Act and Trump’s EOs push for the same overall goals, a key difference stands out: Biden’s legislation called for increasing NRC staff to manage the regulatory burden, whereas Trump’s orders demand faster approvals with fewer staff.
Given the overlap, a fitting headline might be: “Trump Embraces Biden’s Nuclear Policy—But With Fewer Regulators.”
Trump signed the orders alongside energy industry leaders, including the CEOs of Constellation Energy and Oklo Power. Constellation operates many nuclear plants in the U.S., while Oklo is developing a 75-megawatt liquid metal-cooled reactor.
Stock prices of small modular reactor (SMR) companies surged in response. NuScale’s shares jumped 55% in the past five days, while Oklo’s rose 52%, showing strong market support for continued federal backing of the nuclear sector.
Despite the enthusiasm for SMRs, there is currently only one gigawatt-scale reactor approved, built, and ready in the U.S.—the Westinghouse AP1000, recently completed by Southern Company as Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4. However, Westinghouse is now owned by a Canadian firm, which raises concerns.
In closing, two points stand out: First, President Trump’s aggressive stance toward Canada could complicate cooperation in the nuclear sector. Second, nuclear energy is becoming a global industry, and uncertainty around tariffs could create new challenges for its growth.
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