Already facing uphill climb, Trump’s pick to run NASA facing stiffer political headwinds

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WASHINGTON — President Trump has renominated Oklahoma GOP Congressman Jim Bridenstine to be NASA's next administrator even as the already murky prospect of his confirmation is growing dimmer now that Democrat Doug Jones of Alabama has joined the Senate.

Jones' arrival leaves only 51 Republicans in the 100-seat chamber. One of those Republicans — Marco Rubio of Florida — is expected to oppose the nominee. And with Democrats aligned against Bridenstine, a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence might be the only chance to save the nomination.

Complicating matters is the failing health of two GOP senators — Thad Cochran of Mississippi and John McCain of Arizona — whose attendance now appears crucial to Bridenstine's successful confirmation.

So what are the odds, the three-term lawmaker from Tulsa wins the job?

"Not great," said John Logsdon, former director of the Space Policy Institute at the George Washington University.

"But I doubt the White House would have resubmitted the nomination if they didn't calculate that there's at least a chance," he said. "It depends on how much the White House wants the nomination and is willing to use what leverage it may have to get the votes."

Don't expect any support from Democratic senators. They have unified behind Florida Sen. Bill Nelson's call to block the confirmation due to Bridenstine's past skepticism of climate change and the senator's concern that having a partisan lawmaker at the helm could complicate key space missions.

“Congressman Bridenstine’s nomination is no less controversial today than it was when he was first tabbed by the White House to lead NASA last year,” said Nelson, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that oversees the space agency. “His nomination remains in serious jeopardy because many in the Senate agree that NASA needs to have a space professional at its helm and not a divisive politician.”

Bridenstine squeaked through the committee's confirmation process in November, approved 14-13 on a party-line vote with every Democrat opposed.

NASA employs about 18,000 workers and has an annual budget of roughly $19 billion. It's primarily charged with conducting space exploration missions, developing supersonic aircraft, and launching satellites that measure changes in the Earth's climate and ocean temperatures.

Rubio has stopped short of an absolute 'no,' but he has expressed deep misgivings about having an elected politician running the space agency.

“I remain very concerned about the politicization of NASA, not even because he would do it on purpose but just given some of the resistance he’s already engendered,” Rubio said in November. “I don’t think NASA at this critical stage of its history can afford that ... As of this moment, I can’t assure anyone that I would support his nomination if it came to a vote.”

It hasn't helped that Bridenstine appeared in ads on behalf of Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz during the 2016 presidential campaign that suggested Rubio, then a candidate for the White House, was soft on terror because the Florida senator had supported immigration reform.

Bridenstine was one of more than 70 nominations the White House announced Monday evening. Many of them were nominated last year but their names had to be resubmitted because the Senate failed to act on them before the end of 2017.

No Trump nominee for an administration post has been on the losing end of a confirmation vote by the full Senate and it's doubtful the president would want to test that record.

"It is unlikely that a nomination would be brought to the floor for a vote if Senate leadership was not certain it would pass," Marcia S. Smith writes in SpacePolicyOnline.com.

The agency has been run the past year by acting administrator Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. Logsdon credits Lightfoot, who has spent nearly 30 years at the agency, with providing "very good leadership" during uncertain times.

"But every day that goes by, they say: 'What would change if Bridenstine were here?' Logsdon said. "Leaving an organization in this kind of leadership suspense cannot be healthy. "

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