A top nuclear safety regulator was fired by the White House in a two-sentence email Friday night as the administration attempts to dilute the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s independent oversight of power plants.

The email, sent to Commissioner Christopher Hanson by Trent Morse, a deputy director of presidential personnel, does not give any reason for the firing. President Donald Trump has signed executive orders aimed at speeding up approvals of nuclear reactors on U.S. soil during his term. One of the orders last month accused the commission of stifling the nuclear power industry by being overly cautious about safety.

“I am writing to inform you that your position as Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is terminated, effective immediately,” the email to Hanson from Morse said, which was sent at 6:19 p.m. Friday evening. “Thank you for your service.”

The Office of Personnel and the White House did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Hanson said in a statement that the firing is “without cause” and “contrary to existing law and longstanding precedent regarding removal of independent agency appointees.” His term was supposed to run through June 2029. Hanson declined an interview request. His statement does not indicate whether he plans to pursue legal action.

Hanson’s removal leaves the five-member commission split between two President Joe Biden nominees, a Trump nominee and a nominee who was first appointed by Trump and later reappointed by Biden.

Hanson’s is the latest firing at an independent agency as Trump moves to take control of oversight powers that have historically been exercised outside White House authority. He was initially nominated to the commission by Trump in 2020 and elevated to chairman by Biden soon after. He served as chairman until January.

Hanson had been supportive of plans mandated by Congress to modernize the commission. Both Trump and Biden called for a resurgence of nuclear energy in the U.S., saying dozens of new reactors are needed to meet the nation’s crushing energy demands.

But not a single large new U.S. reactor is being built right now, as China builds several.

Experts say the problem is more complicated than regulatory delays. Economic factors, including the high costs of building a nuclear plant, underlie the industry’s stagnation. The U.S. is racing to reinvent nuclear energy, with many firms and the Energy Department focused on licensing smaller, modular reactors that are designed differently than the legacy plants operating now.

A number of hurdles unrelated to the NRC have delayed the licensing of these units, known as small modular reactors. Merely obtaining the highly enriched uranium they run on has proved to be a significant barrier, with much of the supply controlled by Russia.

The last nuclear plant to come online, a Georgia plant called Vogtle, was billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.

“It’s concerning,” Jennifer Gordon, director of the Atlantic Council’s Nuclear Energy Policy Initiative, said of Hanson’s firing. “The commission’s independence makes it the global gold standard among nuclear regularity bodies. It makes other countries want to work with the U.S. It ensures the highest standards and gives confidence license applications are not being politicized and are handled by the appropriate technical experts.”