The Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to approve Jim Bridenstine as President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead NASA, ending a contentious confirmation process that drew criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike about his qualifications for the role.
His confirmation, by a vote of 50-49, marks the end of the longest stretch in NASA’s history absent a permanent administrator, which lasted almost a year and three months. He is the first member of Congress to head the agency.
A former Navy pilot, Bridenstine has represented Oklahoma’s 1st Congressional District since he was elected in 2012. During his time on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, he advocated for a return to the moon and focused on the intersection between national security and space exploration, which won him like-minded allies in the space community. Before his time in Congress, he was the director of Tulsa’s Air and Space Museum.
Florida Democrat Bill Nelson, who orbited the Earth for six days in 1986 as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Columbia, has been the most outspoken critic of Trump’s pick. Nelson takes issue with Bridenstine’s record as a hard-line conservative in Congress and his lack of scientific credentials.
“Leading NASA is a job for an experienced and proven space professional,” Nelson said in a floor speech on Wednesday. “The success or failure of leadership at NASA is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.”
Nelson has also condemned Bridenstine’s previous comments related to climate change. In a 2013 floor speech, Bridenstine raised doubts about the science of climate change and attacked former president Barack Obama for funding climate change research efforts over other priorities.
During his November confirmation hearing, Nelson and his Democratic colleagues pressed Bridenstine on the issue. Asked by Hawaii Democrat Brian Schatz whether he thought humans were the primary contributor to global warming, Bridenstine avoided taking a position, but conceded, “Humans have absolutely contributed to global warming.”
Democrats haven’t been Bridenstine’s only detractors. Florida Republican Marco Rubio expressed deep misgivings with the nominee for months — before ultimately voting in favor of his confirmation. Specifically, Rubio said he was worried about the potential of politicizing NASA by installing a partisan lawmaker as the agency’s leader.
“I just think it could be devastating for the space program. Obviously, being from Florida, I’m very sensitive to anything that slows up NASA and its mission,” Rubio told Politico last year. “It’s the one federal mission which has largely been free of politics and it’s at a critical juncture in its history,” the senator added.
Aware of those concerns, Bridenstine told the panel during his confirmation hearing that he wanted to make sure NASA remains apolitical going forward. But apart from Rubio’s doubts, Republicans largely embraced the Oklahoman, and when it came time to vote on his long-stalled confirmation, no Republicans broke ranks to vote in opposition.
For his part, Rubio pointed to the recent retirement announcement of NASA acting administrator Charles Lightfoot as one reason for his about-face on Bridenstine’s nomination.
“While I wish the president would have nominated a space professional to run NASA, the unexpected April 30 retirement of the acting administrator would leave NASA, an agency whose mission is vital to Florida, with a gaping leadership void unless we confirm a new Administrator,” Rubio said in a statement provided to THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
“Because of this I decided to support the nomination of Rep. Bridenstine. I expect him to lead NASA in a non-political way and to treat Florida fairly.”
