Senate Committee Advances Former Reactor Operator as NRC Nominee

President Joe Biden’s pick as the newest member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission advanced in a Senate committee vote Wednesday.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 10-9 in support of bringing Matthew Marzano into the five-member agency. Marzano will be filling Jeff Baran’s seat, which has been vacant since June 2023.

Marzano is the first commissioner in decades to hold an NRC license. Before joining the Environment and Public Works committee as a staff member, Marzano spent a decade in nuclear reactor operations, including as a senior reactor operator at Braidwood Generating Station in Illinois.