Reid criticizes NRC member

Sen. Harry Reid called William Magwood, member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a "liar" and "first-class rat" in an interview reported Monday. Reid, D-Nev., also referred to Magwood, who headed U.S. Energy Department from 1998 to 2005 and won confirmation to his NRC post in 2010, as a "tool of the nuclear industry," "unethical" and "incompetent" in an interview with the Huffington Post, the Washington newspaper The Hill said Monday. The comments were made in reference to a private meeting in which Magwood allegedly indicated he would support Reid's efforts to close down the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada. Yucca Mountain has been a contentious issue at the commission for the past year, the newspaper noted. Referring to Magwood, Reid said, "He's a first-class rat. He lied to Rouse, he lied to me. He's a tool of the nuclear industry, a tool," a reference to White House aide Pete Rouse. "I will never, ever forget what a treacherous, miserable liar he is."