Members of Congress want White House to quickly nominate new NASA administrator

PARIS — Members of the House and Senate called in the White House to promptly offer a new candidate for NASA administrator after the surprise withdrawal of Jared Isaacman’s nomination.

In briefings organized by the Aerospace Industries Association June16, representatives of House and Senate delegations to the Paris Air Show said it was critical that the agency get permanent leadership as it deals with potential significant cuts to its budget in the coming fiscal year.

“It’s really important for us to have a confirmed administrator of NASA,” said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA and also serves on the Senate Commerce Committee. He compared it to the Federal Aviation Administration, who also currently lacks a confirmed administrator. “We need strong, long-term leaders in the positions in both places.’

He expressed surprise at the announcement by the White House May 31 that it was withdrawing Isaacman’s nomination, a decision reportedly linked to the deteriorating relationship between President Trump and Elon Musk, who had advocated for Isaacman to lead NASA. That move came just days before the Senate was scheduled to vote on, and almost certainly confirm, Isaacman’s nomination.

“We worked hard to get his nomination brought to the Senate floor in a timely fashion,” Moran said. “So I’m anxious for the administration to propose another nominee and begin the process to get someone in place that will be a long-term leader for space development and space exploration in the United States.”

Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), chairman of the House Science Committee, offered similar views at a separate briefing a short time later. “I was surprised,” he said of the withdrawn nomination. “I was ready to work with Mr. Isaacman. However, the White House thought differently, and so we’re waiting in anticipation for some other names to surface. Maybe they will make another nomination fairly soon.”

He added that he felt NASA’s acting administrator, Janet Petro, was doing a “good job,” but that the agency needed a confirmed administrator who can offer more details about the agency’s plans. “So we’re waiting for guidance there.”

NASA budget and reconciliation package

Another challenge facing NASA is a fiscal year 2026 budget proposal that would reduce agency spending by nearly 25% from 2025 levels, with steeper cuts in areas such as space science and technology.

Neither Moran nor Babin went into specifics about their views about the budget proposal, both saying that they had only seen a high-level “skinny” budget. NASA, in fact, released a more detailed proposal May 30.

“I would expect, and would work for, a balanced approach to the various aspects of NASA that they receive adequate funding to continue the mission of educating, training, exploring, researching, as well as sending individuals to outer space,” Moran said.

That included support for the Artemis effort to return American astronauts to the moon “in advance of the Chinese,” he said. “Artemis remains a priority for me, and then exploration and on to Mars as we continue to develop our capabilities and the science behind it.”

“I would hope and work for what I would call a more normal appropriations process with support for NASA and their capabilities to continue to expand our exploration and understanding of the world and the universe,” he said.

“I wholeheartedly agree,” added Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who serves on the same appropriations subcommittee.

An exception to that normal appropriations process is a proposal by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to add nearly $10 billion to the Senate’s version of a budget reconciliation bill that would go towards human spaceflight, including procuring Orion and Space Launch System vehicles for Artemis 4 and 5.

Babin said he was “absolutely in favor” of Cruz’s proposal amid concerns about cuts in the White House’s budget proposal. “It was proposed by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, OMB. This is not set in stone,” he said. “This has got a lot of uncertainty, and a lot of people are concerned.”

The proposed overall cut to NASA’s budget would be “tough” for the agency to sustain, he said. “This is a national security issue, something we will absolutely be addressing because I think it’s imperative for the United States not to cede the moon to our adversary, China, which could very easily happen with cuts like this.”

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), who also serves on the appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA, said after the briefing she supported the effort by Cruz to add funding to the reconciliation bill for NASA’s human spaceflight program, noting it “can ensure we fulfill President Trump’s original vision from his first term to get to the moon.”