President Trump’s nominee to lead NASA was narrowly confirmed by the Senate Thursday, one day after he was almost rejected in a procedural vote.
Former Rep. Jim Bridenstine is NASA’s new administrator following a 50-49 vote in the Senate. He survived weeks of delay and uncertainty when the Senate’s 51 Republicans weren’t completely united around him.
Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Bill Nelson, D-Fla., were initially both opposed to Bridenstine, and argued that putting a former lawmaker in charge of NASA might politicize the space agency. Many Democrats who oppose Bridenstine were making the same argument Thursday.
“Jim Bridenstine … served as a Navy pilot, and I thank him for his service. But that does not qualify him to run NASA,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said on the Senate floor. “Just because you know how to fly a plane does not mean that you have the skills and experience to lead the federal government’s space agency.”
But Rubio signaled this week he can support Bridenstine, and voted for him after saying on the Senate floor that every president deserves some deference from the Senate when it comes to his nominees.
“We give great deference to the president on choosing qualifications … it is my view the more important the job, the more discretion the president deserves,” he said a few hours before the vote.
By Thursday afternoon, the only remaining mystery was how Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., would vote. But Flake, who might have been able to derail the nominee, voted for Bridenstine after a lengthy delay on the Senate floor.
On Wednesday, Flake nearly killed the Bridenstine nomination by voting against a motion to end debate on the pick.
With one Republican and one Democrat missing, Flake’s vote left the Senate stuck in a 49-49 tie on Wednesday. Vice President Pence was in Florida and unavailable to break the tie. Flake eventually decided to flip his vote, allowing the nomination to proceed in a 50-48 vote. Flake’s decision to support Bridenstine in the final vote Thursday led to the same outcome.
But Flake’s decision was unclear for several minutes, long enough to prompt Vice President Mike Pence to start traveling to the Senate in case he was needed for a tie-breaking vote.
The final vote came from Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who entered the chamber to vote “no” on Bridenstine with her newborn daughter, soon after Senate rules were changed to allow the young children of senators to be on the floor.
