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NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said he plans to quit his post at the space agency under new administration Joe Biden, although he has been asked to stay, according to an interview he has had with Aviation week. Bridenstine said the decision would be to make sure NASA has the right leader who connects with the new president.
“What you need is someone who has a close relationship with the President of the United States,” Bridenstine said. Aviation week. “You need someone who has the confidence of the administration…. including OMB [Office of Management and Budget], the National Space Council and the National Security Council, and I think I wouldn’t be the right fit for that in a new administration.
President Trump appointed Bridenstine, then Republican representative of Oklahoma, to lead NASA in 2017. Bridenstine’s confirmation has become controversial, with many lawmakers decrying the idea of a politician running a science agency like NASA. “NASA is one of the last havens of partisan politics,” former Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) said during Bridenstine’s confirmation hearing in November 2017. “NASA needs a leader who will unite us, not divide us. Respectfully, Congressman Bridenstine, I don’t think you are that leader.
Eventually, the Senate narrowly confirmed this in April 2018, with lawmakers voting along party lines. Since then, Bridenstine has been a very forward-oriented administrator, often in the public eye touting NASA’s greatest programs and accomplishments. Her biggest effort has been to lead NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to send the first woman to the moon by 2024.
Many questions remain about how a Biden administration would oversee NASA, especially when it comes to Artemis. The Biden campaign said virtually nothing about how the president-elect would define space policy, other than noting that climate change and earth sciences would be at the heart of the next administration. Meanwhile, President Trump refuses to concede defeat in the recent election, which was called for Biden by major news outlets on November 7. This could make it harder for a Biden transition team to gain access to NASA and its facilities as the new administration prepares to take over.
Regardless of how the power transition unfolds, Bridenstine says he won’t be involved once Biden takes over. However, he says Aviation week that he thinks there is strong bipartisan support for Artemis. “We are in a good position as a country,” he said in the interview. “If you look at the bipartisan, apolitical support that we have from members of Congress on both sides of the aisle… there is strong support for Artemis.” The program has yet to receive a significant increase in funding from Congress, however. A House budget bill would not give NASA a significant boost for the program, while the Senate did not provide details on how it would fund the space agency for next year.
In the meantime, Bridenstine says he doesn’t know what he’s going to do next and hasn’t even started to think about it. “After leading NASA, going from what I do to what I do next is going to be very difficult,” he said. “It was by far the best experience of my life and I am very grateful for it. But I have no illusions. There are a lot of people who can do a great job as a NASA administrator. “
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