Key Vote YES on the Confirmation Vote on Jim Bridenstine to be NASA Administrator

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to vote YES on the confirmation vote on Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) to be the administrator of NASA. Between his time as an aviator in the United States Navy, his firsthand experience serving as the executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium, and his work in Congress, Bridenstine is extraordinarily qualified for the role of NASA administrator.

In this role at NASA, Bridenstine will have the ability to bring much-needed reform to the agency, implementing the same principles of free markets and government efficiency that he tirelessly fought for in Congress. Serving on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Bridenstine became a champion of issues pertaining to air and space exploration.

He proposed legislation in Congress, the American Space Renaissance Act, which would have provided certainty to encourage commercial space innovation and promote stability, accountability, and mission clarity at NASA. He believes NASA has become a “jack of all trades” and hopes to help it focus on human exploration and pioneering space, as was its main objective in 1958. This is precisely the mentality needed in a NASA Administrator.

Additionally, his colleagues have been outwardly very supportive of his nomination to serve. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) took to the Senate floor yesterday prior to Bridenstine’s cloture vote to encourage his confirmation. “Throughout my time in the Senate I have been blessed to meet with a number of astronauts,” Sen. Cruz said. “[Q]uite a number of those astronauts at NASA have backgrounds very similar to that of Rep. Bridenstine’s. He will be able to lead them as one who served a mission similar to the ones they had served in and are serving in now.

Fellow Oklahoman, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), has also expressed his deep support for Bridenstine, saying on Twitter after Bridenstine’s successful cloture vote yesterday, “He has the experience to take our space program to new heights b/c of his background as an aviator, passion for space & work to modernize our nation’s space program. We should confirm him swiftly.” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) also issued a similar statement on Twitter following the vote.

For these reasons, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to vote YES on the confirmation vote on Jim Bridenstine to be NASA Administrator. FreedomWorks will count the vote on our 2018 Congressional Scorecard. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of the House and Senate who consistently vote to support economic freedom and individual liberty.

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon
President, FreedomWorks