NASA/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s pick to run NASA faces what increasingly seem insurmountable obstacles to confirmation by the current Senate, according to industry officials and congressional staffers.
The combination of unanimous Democratic opposition plus stiff resistance from Florida’s Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, these people said, creates the biggest roadblock for the nominee, GOP Rep. James Bridenstine…
The choice previously confronted mounting troubles, but now opponents and backers alike see the nomination most likely languishing—perhaps for months—until there is a shift by pivotal lawmakers or a change in the makeup of the Senate.
Ailing Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona also is widely considered to be leaning against the controversial National Aeronautics and Space Administration choice, some of them said, a sentiment shared by White House legislative strategists and many of Mr. Bridenstine’s congressional supporters. That prospective no vote, combined with anticipated Democratic demands for extended debate, appears to be delaying floor action indefinitely.
Mr. McCain’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment.”
-Andy Pasztor, “Trump’s NASA Nominee Stymied in Senate,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 29, 2018 06:16pm