Senate Gives Trump Huge Win To Strengthen Energy Sector
The Senate delivered a rare show of bipartisanship this week, overwhelmingly approving a major nuclear energy package that strengthens America’s long-neglected reactor fleet and advances President Donald J. Trump’s commitment to restoring U.S. energy dominance. Lawmakers also tied the measure to legislation reauthorizing the U.S. Fire Administration and key firefighter grant programs, ensuring broad support across both parties.
With many of America’s legacy reactors approaching the end of their operational life, the bill seeks to modernize and accelerate the approval process for next-generation nuclear facilities. It reduces the sky-high licensing fees long criticized by energy companies and directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to issue a comprehensive report on streamlining environmental reviews — a step conservatives say is long overdue after decades of bureaucratic paralysis.
The legislation sailed through the Senate on an astounding 88–2 vote, with only Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) opposing, cementing its status as one of the most broadly supported energy reforms in recent memory.
The vote marks another victory for the Trump administration, which has made revitalizing the nuclear sector a central pillar of its “unleashing American energy” agenda. President Trump has already issued four executive orders compelling the NRC to slash regulatory hurdles, accelerate permitting timelines, and process new reactor applications within 18 months — a dramatic break from years-long delays that previously crippled the industry.
For decades, the United States led the world in nuclear innovation. But chronic red tape, ballooning costs, and political obstruction allowed China to seize the mantle, building reactors at a pace America has not matched in generations. The administration’s directives aim to reverse that trajectory by fast-tracking permitting, supporting advanced nuclear technology, and shrinking the agency’s bloated regulatory footprint.
Industry leaders are also poised to benefit from federal incentives preserved in the House’s budget proposal, which maintains tax credits for both existing and newly built nuclear plants — provided construction begins before January 1, 2029. The long-term strategy calls for tripling domestic nuclear generation to 400 gigawatts by 2050, a transformational jump from today’s approximately 100 gigawatts.
Momentum grew even further following Tuesday’s announcement from the Department of Energy: the federal government will back the restart of the long-dormant Unit 1 reactor at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island with a $1 billion loan, supporting a 20-year agreement to power Microsoft’s expanding AI data infrastructure.
The site, infamous for the 1979 partial meltdown that destroyed Unit 2, has stood largely inactive since Exelon shut down the remaining reactor in 2019 due to financial strain and insufficient state support. Constellation Energy — now operating the site, renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center — plans to bring the 835-megawatt reactor back online in 2027. The company has already begun restoring major components including turbines, transformers, and cooling systems, backed by a $1.6 billion investment of its own.
The loan, issued through a massive federal infrastructure program approved in 2022, is expected to significantly lower financing costs and accelerate the restart as demand for reliable, carbon-free power surges nationwide. Energy-hungry data centers, artificial intelligence expansion, and broad grid-stability concerns have pushed policymakers to reconsider nuclear power’s indispensable role in America’s energy mix.
Federal officials emphasized that reviving aging reactors is essential to ensuring stable electricity supplies and advancing long-term climate benchmarks. Energy Secretary Chris Wright underscored the administration’s broader mission, stating, “Thanks to President Trump’s bold leadership and the Working Families Tax Cut, the United States is taking unprecedented steps to lower energy costs and bring about the next American nuclear renaissance. Constellation’s restart of a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania will provide affordable, reliable, and secure energy to Americans across the Mid-Atlantic region. It will also help ensure America has the energy it needs to grow its domestic manufacturing base and win the AI race.”
With nuclear power reclaiming its place at the center of America’s energy strategy, the Trump administration appears poised to deliver the most ambitious nuclear resurgence in modern U.S. history — and restore the nation’s position as the world’s premier energy innovator.