White House resubmits NASA deputy administrator nominee

WASHINGTON — The White House has resubmitted a nomination for NASA deputy administrator but is seeking a new nominee for the agency’s chief financial officer.

The White House announced Jan. 13 that it had sent to the Senate the nomination of Matt Anderson for deputy administrator, one of four NASA positions requiring Senate confirmation. His nomination was among several dozen for positions across the federal government submitted that day.

The Trump administration originally nominated Anderson, a former U.S. Air Force officer and senior official with the Space Force Association, in May. Under Senate rules, however, the chamber returned the nomination at the end of its first session because it had not voted on it.

The Senate took no action on the nomination after its original submission, which came a few weeks before the White House withdrew the original nomination of Jared Isaacman to be NASA administrator. The White House renominated Isaacman in November, and the Senate confirmed him Dec. 17.

“I’m honored to receive President Trump’s nomination to serve as deputy administrator at NASA, and I look forward to working with the Senate in the next stage of this process,” Anderson said in a statement released by the Space Force Association.

The group endorsed Anderson’s renomination. “His renomination signals a steadfast commitment to integrating advanced space operations and commercial industry agility into the heart of the agency,” said Bill Woolf, president and founder of the Space Force Association, in a statement.

“Matt is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between national security space and civil exploration, ensuring that NASA has the operational expertise required for the ambitious Artemis and Martian missions ahead,” Woolf said.

Another NASA nomination returned by the Senate at the end of its first session was that of Greg Autry for chief financial officer. Autry is associate provost for space commercialization and strategy at the University of Central Florida.

Autry said he is not seeking renomination. “I have decided not to pursue confirmation again and have requested that I not be renominated,” Autry said in a social media post Jan. 8. He did not elaborate on his decision.

Autry was nominated in March to be NASA chief financial officer and that nomination was initially designated as “privileged,” allowing for a streamlined confirmation process without a hearing. However, the nomination was referred to the Senate Commerce Committee in early June by the committee’s ranking member, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. The committee did not hold a confirmation hearing.

This was the second time Autry had been nominated for the post. He was first nominated in 2020 during the first Trump administration and received a confirmation hearing, but the Senate did not vote on the nomination.

“While it would have been a pleasure to work with you at NASA, I know your talents will continue to advance America’s leadership in space,” Isaacman said in a social media post responding to Autry’s announcement.

In addition to the open positions of deputy administrator and chief financial officer, NASA currently does not have a Senate-confirmed inspector general. The post has been vacant since longtime Inspector General Paul Martin left the agency at the end of 2023. The Trump administration has not yet nominated a replacement.