With the overwhelming majority of President Donald Trump’s cupboard members now accredited by the US Senate, focus is popping to senior positions throughout the administration which can be just under the cupboard stage.
The administrator of NASA is among the many most high-profile of those positions. Practically 4 months in the past Trump nominated non-public astronaut Jared Isaacman to turn into chief of the area company, however he has but to obtain a listening to earlier than the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Virtually instantly after his nomination, a lot of the area neighborhood fell in behind Isaacman, who has flown to area twice on non-public Crew Dragon missions, raised charitable funds, and is mostly well-liked. Since then, Isaacman has labored to construct help for his candidacy via conversations with folks within the area neighborhood and officeholders.
Nonetheless, publicly, not a lot has occurred. This has raised questions throughout the area neighborhood about whether or not the nomination has stalled. Though some folks have expressed concern about monetary ties between Isaacman and SpaceX, in line with a number of sources, the first impediment has been Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who chairs the Senate committee.
Cruz will not be pleased that Isaacman has donated to Democrats previously, and he’s involved that the non-public astronaut is extra focused on Mars exploration than the Moon. Cruz additionally didn’t recognize Elon Musk’s name to finish the lifetime of the Worldwide Area Station early. The station is operated by NASA’s subject heart, Johnson Area Middle, in Houston, the place Cruz lives.
Nomination on observe
Nonetheless, regardless of the slower tempo, folks aware of the nomination course of say Isaacman’s candidacy stays on observe. And lately, there have been some public bulletins that help this notion.
In early March, the governors of a number of southern US states, together with Florida and Texas, despatched a letter to Cruz expressing “sturdy help” for the swift affirmation of Isaacman. A notable absence from this letter was the governor of Alabama, Kay Ivey, the place NASA’s Marshall Area Flight Middle is positioned. Nonetheless, she additionally lately despatched Cruz a letter praising Isaacman, calling him an “distinctive choice” to guide NASA. It’s notable that the governors of all of the US states with main human spaceflight actions have now lined up behind Isaacman.
