Posted: Sun, Sep 3, 2017, 10:01 AM ET (1401 GMT)
After months of waiting, the White House announced late Friday that it was nominating an Oklahoma congressman to be the next administrator of NASA. The administration said, in a statement that included dozens of other nominations for various government positions, that it was nominating Jim Bridenstine to be the agency's next administrator. Bridenstine, a Republican in his third term in the House, has been active on space issues, including introducing last year the American Space Renaissance Act, a bill that included a wide range of national security, civil, and commercial policy provisions. The nomination has strong support from the space industry. Bridenstine, though, has limited technical experience, a cause for some criticism. Florida's two senators, Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Marco Rubio, said they had concerns about the nomination but stopped short of opposing it. The nomination will require confirmation by the Senate.
