Isaacman Nomination Clears Senate Commerce Committee

President Trump’s nomination of Jared Isaacman to be the next NASA Administrator was approved by committee this morning by a vote of 19-9.  All Republicans and four Democrats voted in favor of the nomination. Nine Democrats voted no.  The next step will be a vote by the full Senate, but the timing is unclear.

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee chairman Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ranking Member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) both said they supported Isaacman’s nomination because he agreed during his April 9 confirmation hearing that he would follow the law and focus on getting astronauts back to the Moon before Mars.

Trump’s enthusiastic endorsement of sending people to Mars and his close association with Mars enthuasiast Elon Musk have sparked concerns that he might pivot NASA’s human spaceflight program away from the Moon to Mars. Congress has steadfastly supported a Moon-to-Mars human exploration strategy on a bipartisan basis for two decades.  Isaacman believes NASA can do both at the same time, but many are skeptical NASA’s resources will be sufficient.

As he did during the nomination hearing, Cruz reiterated that current law calls the Moon a stepping stone to Mars and since Isaacman agreed he will follow the law, he has Cruz’s support.

Mr. Isaacman is a successful entrepreneur with a bold boundary-pushing vision for space exploration. As we heard at his nomination hearing earlier this month, quote, NASA was built to do the near-impossible.  I agree, but NASA’s plans for space must remain grounded in reality and aligned with our strategic interests.

Existing law directs NASA to establish a, quote, sustained human presence in cislunar space or on the Moon. Federal law explicitly calls the Moon a, quote, steppingstone to reaching Mars.  In other words, our path to predominance in space begins with the Artemis missions.  Mr. Isaacman acknowledges this. As he told us, quote, I’m committed to following the law and as a lifelong space enthusiast I would like nothing more than to see lunar operations become continuous, enduring and routine.

For Isaacman, NASA can pursue Martian objectives, yes, absolutely, but these should, quote, not detract from the near-term objective of returning to the Moon first. Given this explicit commitment, I support Mr. Isaacman’s confirmation. — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)

NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas is leading the Artemis program and is home to the NASA astronaut corps including the four astronauts (three American, one  Canadian) who will fly the Artemis II mission next year.

Cantwell’s views are similar, supporting Isaacman because he committed to maintaining the current Artemis program. Blue Origin is building one of the two Human Landing Systems for Artemis and is headquartered in her state of Washington.

Mr. Isaacman’s nomination comes before us with a wealth of business experience and space experience. I do think that innovators at this point in time, with a commitment to keeping onto the Moon mission, is the key requirement that we have to have in this position. While it’s not clear to me where the Trump Administration will ultimately end up on the NASA budget, and I have concerns about some of their proposed cuts today, Mr. Isaacman seems committed to the current plan for both lander redundancies, Space Launch System and returning to the Moon as fast as possible.

I think this is a very big competitive issue for the United States of America, that competitiveness is not just a goal, it’s a reality that someday we may wake up and find ourselves falling behind. So today I will support his nomination and hope that we will continue to get leadership out of the Administration on clarification of supporting a robust NASA budget. — Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

Cruz and Cantwell were the only two Senators who spoke on his nomination.  The vote was 19-9, with all Republicans and four Democrats voting yes and nine Democrats voting no.

The four Democratic yes votes were Senators Maria Cantwell (Washington), Tammy  Baldwin (Wisconsin), John Hickenlooper (Colorado) and Andy Kim (New Jersey).

The nine Democratic no votes were Senators Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Ed Markey (Massachusetts), Gary Peters (Michigan), Tammy Duckworth (Illinois), Jacky Rosen (Nevada), Ben Ray Luján (New Mexico), John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (Delaware).

Committee approval is the next to last step in the nomination process.  How long it will take for the full Senate to take it up is unknown.

In a statement issued by NASA, White House spokesperson Liz Huston said they hope for swift confirmation.

 “Jared Isaacman is exceptionally qualified to advance President Trump’s bold agenda to restore American leadership in space science, technology, and exploration. We look forward to the Senate’s swift confirmation of him.” — Liz Huston, White House spokesperson