<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/bridenstine_0.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/bridenstine_0.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/bridenstine_0.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > In this Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, file photo, U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Tulsa, speaks in Tulsa, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

At a Glance U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine went before the Senate Commerce, Space, and Transportation Committee on Wednesday.

When pressured to clarify his views on climate change, Bridenstine said the cause of climate change "depends on a whole lot of factors."

President Donald Trump's pick to head NASA has a take on climate change that doesn't exactly align with the consensus of the scientific community.

During a Wednesday confirmation hearing of the Senate Commerce, Space, and Transportation Committee, U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, a Republican from Oklahoma, said human-caused climate change "depends on a whole lot of factors."

Bridenstine, 42, said he agreed with the statement that “climate warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities."

"I believe carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas," he told the committee. "I believe humans have contributed to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere."

But when asked by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) to what extent humans have contributed, Bridenstine said it is a "question I do not have an answer to."

"But I do know that scientists absolutely contribute to global warming," he added.

Schatz tried to nail down whether Bridenstine believed that humans were the driving force behind climate change.

“Sir, I would say human activity is absolutely a contributor to the climate change we are currently seeing,” he said. "I think right now we are just scratching the surface as to the climate system of the Earth.”

Schatz asked: "Is it the primary cause."

"Well, it's going to depend on a whole lot of factors and we're still learning more about that every day," Bridenstine said. "In some years you could say absolutely. In other years, during sun cycles and other things, there are other contributing factors that would have maybe more of an impact."



While many of Trump's picks for science leadership roles have hedged on the impact of human activity on climate change, the scientific community is virtually united in its consensus that human activities have been the drivers of global warming since the preindustrial era.

NASA's own website notes that "climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities." It also says that "the sun doesn't appear to be responsible for the warming trend observed over the past several decades."

(MORE: Monarch Butterflies That Should Have Migrated South Have Yet to Leave Canada )

Concerns have been raised about Bridenstine's ability to lead NASA, which is tasked not only with space exploration but the study of the Earth itself. Some suggest he is among a long list of climate deniers that have been picked by the president to lead the country's scientific agencies.

Last week, Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, sent a three-page letter opposing Bridentine's nomination to Senate "Science" committee members Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

"Rep. Bridenstine's background makes him an extremely concerning choice to lead this critical agency and its 19,000 diverse employees," Murray wrote in the letter. "Rep. Bridenstine's denial of climate science and consistent opposition to equal rights for women, immigrants, and gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals should disqualify him from consideration."

During the hearing, Nelson fired off a list of reasons why the former fighter pilot and astronaut may not be qualified for the job.

“Your service to the country is commendable, but does not make you qualified to lead NASA,” Nelson told Bridenstine. “NASA represents the best of what we can do as a people and NASA is one of the last refuges of partisan politics ... NASA needs a leader who will unite us, not divide us. Respectfully, Congressman Bridenstine, you’ve got a long way to go to prove to be that leader.”