Senate panel OKs Bridenstine’s NASA nomination
U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine moved one step closer to becoming the administrator of NASA on Wednesday when his nomination was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee over the objections of all Democrats.
The committee’s 14-13 vote sends his nomination to the full Senate, where it will likely face the same opposition from Democrats.
“Jim is dedicated to serving his country and is a recognized leader on space and weather issues, making him particularly qualified to fill this position,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, after the vote.
Bridenstine, a 42-yearold Tulsa Republican, faced a long list of questions from the committee last Wednesday, few of which involved space. Instead, Democrats openly doubted whether the three-term congressman can act apolitically and maintain NASA’s research on climate change considering his prior skepticism that humans are causing it.
“The NASA administrator, in my judgment, ought to be a skilled executive capable of managing a portfolio of many of the most challenging technical projects undertaken by humankind. Especially at this point, as we are venturing out into the cosmos,” said Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat and retired astronaut who voted against Bridenstine. “The NASA administrator ought to have a strong scientific and technical background, and the NASA administrator must not be political.”
“I believe, Mister Chairman, the nominee falls short of these three areas that I discussed,” he added.
Before the vote, Nelson read aloud comments made by Sen. Marco Rubio. Rubio, the lone Senate Republican to state his opposition, has said Bridenstine’s leadership “could be devastating for the space program.”
In written questions filed after the Nov. 1 hearing and made public this week, seven Republican senators asked Bridenstine for his opinions on space technology, American space travel and national defense. His answers spoke to support for a continuation of current missions and NASA’s status quo.
A new, more powerful rocket, known as the Space Launch System, “will serve as the backbone to our country’s deep space exploration architecture,” Bridenstine told Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., adding that he also supports the Orion spacecraft, which NASA expects will carry humans as far as Mars.
“Without long-term, consistent funding and support, progress and discovery could be prevented, taxpayer dollars wasted, and agency morale eroded,” he told the senator.
In response to a question from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Bridenstine called the International Space Station “a crowning achievement of diplomacy in space” but did not commit to extending U.S. support for the ISS beyond 2024, saying it is “a complicated challenge.”
In several written responses, Bridenstine reinforced his belief in commercial space exploration. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., asked whether NASA will allow commercial interests to harvest energy from asteroids. Bridenstine, while not committing directly, said such harvesting “could play a role in NASA’s exploration plans.”