Monitoring democratic institutions through public records
Government Worker Protections — Week of Jul 28, 2025
Are career government workers protected from being fired for political reasons? 'Schedule F' is a rule that could let the President fire thousands of workers who aren't loyal to him.
AI content assessment elevated
AI two-pass review flags anomalous content with P2 corroboration. Monitoring increased.
This week, a U.S. senator raised alarms about what's happening inside the Nuclear Regulatory Commission—the independent agency responsible for ensuring nuclear power plants are safe. In a floor speech opposing a nominee, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse described a Department of Energy employee who has been placed inside NRC's leadership without NRC oversight, pushing out senior nuclear safety experts and pursuing staff cuts. He also described a maneuver to sideline the NRC's top lawyer—whose appointment requires Commission approval—by creating a new position that doesn't need that approval, filling it with a fossil fuel attorney.
This might matter because Congress deliberately separated the NRC from the Department of Energy so that the agency regulating nuclear safety wouldn't be influenced by the agency promoting nuclear energy. If DOE personnel can embed in NRC leadership without NRC supervision and drive out experienced staff, the firewall protecting independent safety regulation could be weakened at a time when the country is expanding its use of nuclear power.
Separately, during a bill signing event, the president discussed restoring authority to fire VA employees, describing previously terminated workers as "sadists" and "thieves" who were rehired and are now being removed again. While accountability for genuinely poor-performing employees is important and legally authorized, broad characterizations of government workers as criminals can create an environment where career employees fear speaking up.
There are reasonable alternative explanations to consider. The administration may be pursuing legitimate modernization at the NRC to speed up nuclear energy development, and bringing in DOE personnel could be part of that effort. Staff reductions aren't inherently harmful if agencies are overstaffed. At the VA, the Accountability Act provides lawful removal authority for employees who fail veterans. However, the specific details—an unsupervised detailee from the very agency the NRC is supposed to be independent from, the departure of irreplaceable nuclear safety experts, and a legal workaround to bypass Commission approval—raise questions that go beyond normal reorganization.
Limitations: The NRC claims come from one senator's speech and reflect a single political perspective. The VA remarks were brief and don't detail how many employees are affected or the specific process used. This is AI-generated analysis, not a finding of fact.