The bipartisan pushback by Florida Sens. Marco Rubio (left) and Bill Nelson (right) underscores the importance of the agency to the state. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images Rubio, Nelson blast Trump’s NASA pick

Florida’s senators are voicing opposition to President Donald Trump’s pick for NASA administrator, Oklahoma Congressman Jim Bridenstine, saying a “politician” shouldn’t lead the nation’s space program.

Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Bill Nelson wouldn’t say whether they’d buck the president and vote against Bridenstine, who was nominated Friday. But they suggested the GOP congressman’s political past would needlessly spark a partisan fight in the Senate that could ultimately damage NASA.

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Bridenstine also trashed Rubio during last year’s GOP presidential primary, although Rubio said he doesn’t hold that against the congressman.

The bipartisan pushback against Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator underscores the importance of the agency to Florida, home of the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. Nelson, as a member of Congress, in 1986 flew on a Space Shuttle Columbia mission; he also has a home on what’s known as the state’s Space Coast.

“The head of NASA ought to be a space professional, not a politician,” Nelson said in a brief written statement to POLITICO.

Nelson serves as the ranking member on the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, which oversees NASA and would hear Bridenstine’s nomination. Bridenstine’s office did not return calls seeking comment.

The White House officially announced in a statement on Friday night that Trump intended to nominate Bridenstine to the role of NASA administrator.

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Rubio said he and Nelson “share the same concerns” and worry Bridenstine’s “political baggage” would weigh him down in a GOP-led Senate that has grown increasingly resistant to Trump. NASA can’t afford that, Rubio said.

“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.

“It’s the one federal mission which has largely been free of politics and it’s at a critical juncture in its history,” Rubio said. “I would hate to see an administrator held up -- on [grounds of] partisanship, political arguments, past votes, or statements made in the past -- because the agency can’t afford it and it can’t afford the controversy.”

Noting NASA’s mission to Mars, Rubio said the agency is at critical moment in its history and he would prefer an administrator who has the “respect of the people who work there from a leadership and even a scientific perspective.”

Rubio said he relayed his thoughts to the White House.

Rubio said he would wait to meet with Bridenstine, a former Navy pilot who once served as director of Tulsa’s Air and Space Museum, and review his credentials before deciding how to vote.

Bridenstine was harshly critical of Rubio during the GOP presidential primary when the Oklahoma representative supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. In two ads for Cruz that suggested Rubio was weak on terror, Bridenstine also attacked Rubio’s support of comprehensive immigration reform.

"I have seen Ted Cruz stand up to both Obama and Marco Rubio, when they joined forces to provide amnesty without border security,” Bridenstine said in one of the spots. “The Rubio amnesty bill would have expanded the U.S. refugee resettlement program."

When asked about Bridenstine’s politicking against him, Rubio wisecracked that “there’s a couple people in the executive branch who didn’t always say nice things about me in a political campaign. This is largely a secondary issue. I don’t think it speaks to a person’s ability to work at NASA.”

Cristiano Lima contributed to this report.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House says President Donald Trump plans to nominate an Oklahoma congressman to serve as the next administrator of NASA.

Trump on Friday announced his pick of Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine to lead the nation's space agency.

The congressman is a pilot in the U.S. Navy Reserve and a former executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium. He was elected to Congress in 2012 and currently serves on House Armed Services Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee.

If confirmed by the Senate, Bridenstine would play a key role in Trump's plans to add human exploration of Mars to NASA's mission. NASA is aiming for astronauts on Mars sometime in the 2030s.</s>We finally have the name of the person that the Administration is nominating to lead one of the nation's most storied and successful federal agencies. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has advanced knowledge of our solar system (and beyond), home planet, and technology for decades. As a former NASA scientist and someone that routinely advises the agency, I have always been stunned at the broader public's limited knowledge about the scale of NASA's mission. Many associate it only with space shuttles and astronauts but often overlook the cool work, for example, by NASA on Mars, within the Earth's various systems, in aviation technology, and for education. Many things that benefit our daily lives come directly from NASA. This week President Trump announced that U.S. Representative Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) is his nominee as NASA's 13th Administrator.

NASA was created in 1958 and is tasked with science and technology as it relates to space, aeronautics, earth, and more. A sample of language in the The 1958 Space Act that created NASA includes:

The aeronautical and space activities of the United States shall be conducted so as to contribute materially to one or more of the following objectives: The expansion of human knowledge of phenomena in the atmosphere and space … The establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from, the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes… .The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical and space science and technology and in the application thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities within and outside the atmosphere… The making available to agencies directly concerned with national defenses of discoveries that have military value or significance, and the furnishing by such agencies, to the civilian agency established to direct and control nonmilitary aeronautical and space activities, of information as to discoveries which have value or significance to that agency…

NASA is one of several independent agencies, which means it is not a part of a federal executive department and the Executive Office of the President.

Congressman Bridenstine was elected in 2012 to serve Oklahoma's 1st Congressional district. Bridenstine's website also points out:

He triple majored in business administration, economics, and psychology at Rice University and has an MBA from Cornell University. After 9 years on active duty in the Navy, Congressman Bridenstine spent time in the private sector in various enterprises including aerospace, defense contracting, ranching, and real estate. He has served on both the Science, Space and Technology Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, respectively. These credentials are quite appropriate for someone leading today's version of NASA and not different from some previous NASA Administrators.

Bridenstine has been very clear about his goals for the U.S. space program. He recently wrote about his views on the need to return to the moon to tap into potential water resources. Bridenstine has expressed support for ongoing NASA projects like the Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft but will also be viewed favorably by the rapidly emerging commercial space industry, according to Mark Whittington.

NASA has a strong portfolio of Earth Science research. The Earth's system is a complex web of weather, climate, oceans, vegetation, air quality, ice, and fire. NASA's vantage point of space and its advanced technologies provide a unique service to the Nation to complement the more operational mission of others. As the nation continues to watch fellow citizens recover from Hurricane Harvey, NASA's envelope-pushing research and development and partnerships with other agencies are more vital than ever. Harvey's infancy can be traced to a cloud seedling in Africa. Along its journey, the storm interacted with open ocean, land, dust, and so forth. NASA technology was at the forefront and behind the scenes in monitoring Harvey. For example, intensity forecasts still lag track forecasts. Insight on sea surface temperatures and the development of towering rainstorms in the eyewall of hurricanes is key to improving intensity forecasts and for integration into operational models. Advanced technology developed by NASA are helping with this challenge. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission provided critical and unique "under the hood" views of Harvey. I served for many years as Deputy Project Scientist for this mission while at NASA.

Bridenstine has been a leader in supporting weather research. H.R. 353, the Lucas-Bridenstine Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act was signed into law this year. As a former President of the American Meteorological Society consulted through the years on the potential efficacy of this bill, I know that Congressman Bridenstine was one of the driving forces behind this bill that will hopefully save lives and property.

Bridenstine has been criticized for past statements related to federal spending on climate research. While I suspect this will be rightly fleshed out more in confirmation, my sense is that the Congressman is pragmatic. The realities of serving a state constituency are very different than leading an agency that is depended upon as a world leader in enabling Earth observations and modeling capabilities. I also find it cool that the Congressman can talk phased-array radar with the best of them. I had the opportunity to talk with him on the phone in the past about some of these topics.

There is bipartisan criticism of the selection of a politician to lead the historic and vital space agency. Senators Rubio and Nelson have been particularly vocal in expressing concern about a politician at arguably the most high-profile science agency. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the Senate confirmation. I am going to leave all of the political stuff to the politicians, but I will end by noting that NASA is a science agency that I deeply care about. I spent 12 years of my career there, and I continue to advise the agency. My door (or phone line) is always open to Mr. Bridenstine for advice on why our work is so important to the nation and the world.</s>Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine is a pilot in the U.S. Navy Reserve and a former executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium. He was elected to Congress in 2012.

WASHINGTON — The White House says President Donald Trump plans to nominate an Oklahoma congressman to serve as the next administrator of NASA.

Trump on Friday announced his pick of Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine to lead the nation's space agency.

The congressman is a pilot in the U.S. Navy Reserve and a former executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium. He was elected to Congress in 2012 and currently serves on House Armed Services Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee.

If confirmed by the Senate, Bridenstine would play a key role in Trump's plans to add human exploration of Mars to NASA's mission. NASA is aiming for astronauts on Mars sometime in the 2030s.</s>Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine is a pilot in the U.S. Navy Reserve and a former executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium. He was elected to Congress in 2012.

Note: This article has been corrected.

WASHINGTON — The White House says President Donald Trump plans to nominate an Oklahoma congressman to serve as the next administrator of NASA.

Trump on Friday announced his pick of Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine to lead the nation's space agency.

The congressman serves in the Oklahoma Air National Guard and is a former executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium. He was elected to Congress in 2012 and currently serves on House Armed Services Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee.

If confirmed by the Senate, Bridenstine would play a key role in Trump's plans to add human exploration of Mars to NASA's mission. NASA is aiming for astronauts on Mars sometime in the 2030s.



Correction: In a story Sept. 1 about President Donald Trump's nominee for NASA administrator, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine is a Navy Reservist. Bridenstine is a member of the 137th Special Operations Wing of the Oklahoma Air National Guard.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) — In a story Sept. 1 about President Donald Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine is a Navy Reservist. Bridenstine is a member of the 137th Special Operations Wing of the Oklahoma Air National Guard.

A corrected version of the story is below:

The White House says President Donald Trump plans to nominate an Oklahoma congressman to serve as the next administrator of NASA

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump plans to nominate an Oklahoma congressman to serve as the next administrator of NASA.

Trump on Friday announced his pick of Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine to lead the nation’s space agency.

The congressman serves in the Oklahoma Air National Guard and is a former executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium. He was elected to Congress in 2012 and currently serves on House Armed Services Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee.

If confirmed by the Senate, Bridenstine would play a key role in Trump’s plans to add human exploration of Mars to NASA’s mission. NASA is aiming for astronauts on Mars sometime in the 2030s.</s>US President Donald Trump is expected to nominate House Representative Jim Bridenstine as NASA's new administrator as soon as September 5, the media reported.

"Several space industry sources, speaking on background, said they anticipated a formal nomination of Bridenstine to run the space agency on 5 September, the day after the Labor Day holiday," said spacenews.com, an American news site covering the space industry, on Friday, Xinhua reported.

"That schedule could slip, though, depending on other events and general uncertainty about the timing of administration decisions."

The website said Bridenstine has been active on space issues in Congress and was also a staunch supporter of Trump's candidacy in the general election.

The Oklahoma Congressman has called for a human return to the Moon before NASA embarks upon a mission to Mars.

Currently, NASA is led by acting administrator, Robert Lightfoot, who has been in that position for more than seven months.

Meanwhile, Asteroid Florence, named in honour of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the founder of modern nursing, is set to pass by Earth at 8.05 am ET. "While many known asteroids have passed by closer to Earth than Florence. They were estimated to be smaller," said Paul Chodas, Manager of NASA's Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.</s>Representative Jim Bridenstine, Republican of Oklahoma, will be nominated by President Trump to serve as NASA’s next administrator, the White House said on Friday night.

Mr. Bridenstine, a strong advocate for drawing private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin more deeply into NASA’s exploration of space, had been rumored to be the leading candidate for the job, but months passed without an announcement. If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Bridenstine, 42, would be the first elected official to hold that job.

The previous administrator, Charles F. Bolden Jr., stepped down on Jan. 20, the first day of Mr. Trump’s presidency. Since then, Robert M. Lightfoot Jr., the associate administrator, has served as acting administrator. Mr. Lightfoot’s 225 days as of Saturday have already set a record for the longest time NASA has been without a permanent leader.

“I am pleased to have Representative Bridenstine nominated to lead our team,” Mr. Lightfoot said in a statement. “Of course, the nomination must go through the Senate confirmation process, but I look forward to ensuring a smooth transition and sharing the great work the NASA team is doing.”

Although NASA has little presence in Oklahoma, Mr. Bridenstine, a former Navy Reserve pilot who is now in his third term in the House Representatives, has long had an interest in space. Before being elected to Congress in 2012, he was executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium from 2008 to 2010.</s>James Bridenstine is ready to take America back to the moon.

With Donald Trump's Friday announcement that he intends to nominate the Oklahoma representative as administrator of NASA, Bridenstine is one step closer to his moon dreams.

Rep. Bridenstine is already on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and has been gunning for the head boss role at NASA. The position has been open since Trump's inauguration with acting administrator Robert Lightfoot Jr. serving in the role.

Bridenstine is the author of the American Space Renaissance Act and he's very passionate about the moon and using its natural resources for space travel.

"Water ice on the Moon could be used to refuel satellites in orbit," he explained in a blog post. He argued that from the moment we discovered water ice on the moon, "the American objective should have been a permanent outpost of rovers and machines, with occasional manned missions for science and maintenance, in order to utilize the materials and energy of the Moon to drive down the costs and increase the capabilities of American operations in cis-lunar and interplanetary space."

As Trump's nomination noted, after serving in the Navy, Bridenstine was the executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium, so he's pretty caught up with his space studies and lunar terminology.

Once the senate confirms his nomination (and Trump officially nominates him), it's blast off for Bridenstine.</s>US President Donald Trump is expected to nominate House Representative Jim Bridenstine as NASA’s new administrator as soon as September 5, the media reported.

“Several space industry sources, speaking on background, said they anticipated a formal nomination of Bridenstine to run the space agency on September 5, the day after the Labor Day holiday,” said spacenews.com — an American news site covering the space industry — on Friday, Xinhua reported.

“That schedule could slip, though, depending on other events and general uncertainty about the timing of administration decisions.”

The website said Bridenstine has been active on space issues in Congress and was also a staunch supporter of Trump’s candidacy in the general election.

The Oklahoma Congressman has called for a human return to the Moon before NASA embarks upon a mission to Mars.

Currently, NASA is led by acting administrator, Robert Lightfoot, who has been in that position for more than seven months.
President Trump nominates Oklahoma congressman Jim Bridenstine, member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.