The Trump White House is attempting to entice states to host radioactive waste dumps in exchange for a chance to play for economic development and investment prizes — all as part of the administration’s goal of quadrupling U.S. nuclear power production over the next 25 years and to satiate Big Tech and the consolidated wealth of energy monopolies.
Part of the investment incentive may prove to be the “billions” or “hundreds of billions” that administration officials claim will be lavished on new reactor development, from nuclear fuel production and research, to reprocessing and advanced manufacturing.
A former head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Civilian Radioactive Nuclear Waste Management, and a former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission are among the chorus of voices pointing to the federal government’s failure to create a plan to handle the country’s existing nuclear waste and have called for creation of a privatized, non-governmental corporation, run by reactor owners, to develop a permanent solution for the high-level waste they produce. The Administration continues to heap federal funds onto covering costs for failing to take responsibility for existing irradiated waste fuel, all while redirecting tax dollars away from renewable energy solutions and into the creation of more radioactive waste, with no disposal plan in sight. — Politico, Jan. 20; the American Nuclear Society’s Nuclear News Wire, Jan. 15, 2026
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