Bridenstine faces Democratic opposition at Senate hearing
U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine faced pointed questions from Democrats about climate change, gay rights and his fiscal management of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum during a Senate hearing Wednesday.
The Tulsa Republican has been nominated by President Donald Trump to lead NASA, a position that will require approval from the Senate Commerce Committee and full Senate.
“I am truly humbled by the prospect of leading this agency,” he told senators. “I grew up reading about the heroes of the Apollo era, like Gene Cernan, a Naval aviator and the last man to walk on the Moon. Stories like his inspired me to be a pilot and to serve my country in uniform.”
After he praised Cernan, another former astronaut, Sen. Bill Nelson, sharply interrogated Bridenstine. The Democrat from Florida said the Republican from Oklahoma lacked professional qualifications necessary to lead America's space agency.
“Your recent public service career does not instill great confidence about your leadership skills or ability to bring people together. In fact, your record and behavior in Congress is as divisive and extreme as any in Washington,” Nelson told the congressman.
Several Democrats challenged Bridenstine to defend widely held beliefs within the scientific community that the Earth is warming and that humans are playing a role in climate change. Bridenstine has been skeptical of climate science in the past but grown more defensive of it since being nominated.
Under a line of questioning from Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, Bridenstine agreed that climate warming trends are likely due to human activity.
“I’ll tell you what I believe: I believe carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. I believe humans have contributed to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” Bridenstine said.
When Schatz asked to what extent humans have contributed, Bridenstine said he did not have an answer. Schatz said he was concerned that NASA, a science agency, could be led by someone who doesn’t defer to scientists or rely on a scientific consensus about climate change.
“I would say human activity is absolutely a contributor to the climate change that we are currently seeing,” Bridenstine said, but added his opinion that it’s not yet known to what extent humans contribute.
During more than two hours of testimony, Democrats on the committee repeatedly asked Bridenstine about controversial statements made by himself, by candidates he had endorsed and by political commentators he has allied himself with.
Nelson read aloud statements made by Kelli Ward, a Republican candidate for Senate endorsed by Bridenstine; the congressman said he was unfamiliar with her comments critical of Sen. John McCain and has never met Ward.
Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., asked about Bridenstine’s defense of then-candidate Donald Trump after The Washington Post revealed he had made crude comments about grabbing women. Bridenstine, when asked about this and comments on same-sex couples, repeatedly said he believes all humans have worth and value.
Republicans on the committee adamantly defended Bridenstine as a decorated military pilot more than qualified to lead the space agency. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah called him “one of the most heroic people I’ve ever known.” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called him “a war hero.”
"I believe he is going to be the very best administrator we've ever had,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe, a fellow Tulsa Republican.
Bridenstine, 42, was first elected to Congress in 2012 and is serving his third term. He had pledged to serve only three terms in the House. A special election in his Tulsa-based district will be needed if he is confirmed by the committee and full Senate.
Bridenstine lacks the science education and training typical of NASA administrators, though he is a former executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum. His tenure there came under criticism Wednesday.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., asked why the museum had a $73,000 budget surplus when Bridenstine was named executive director but a budget deficit of $311,000 when he left in 2009. Bridenstine said the accusation, which emerged during his 2012 congressional race, “is not true.”
When Nelson followed up by presenting to Bridenstine the museum’s tax documents, which showed the surplus and deficit, the congressman said several large projects in 2009 led to a short-term deficit. Those projects included an air show and the purchase of a retired space shuttle, he said.
“This is kind of an attack piece from many years ago,” he said, pressing his finger against the tax documents, “and it doesn’t accurately represent my tenure there at all.”
The committee did not vote on Bridenstine’s nomination Wednesday. He is expected to be approved by the committee and by the Senate as a whole, barring unexpected opposition from Republicans, who hold narrow majorities in both.
"I truly do not think you are ready to be administrator for NASA," said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat.
“I believe you’re going to get confirmed,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, “but I would say to my Democratic friends on this committee that if the confirmation ends up going down as a party-line vote, I think that would be deeply unfortunate for NASA and for the space community.”