Sen. Cruz: ‘NASA Needs a Strong Leader, and It Will Have That Strong Leader in Jim Bridenstine’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today spoke on the Senate floor, urging his Senate colleagues to put aside partisan politics and confirm Jim Bridenstine as the NASA administrator. As chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness, Sen. Cruz has played an instrumental role in advancing Bridenstine’s nomination through the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

“NASA needs a strong leader, and it will have that strong leader in Jim Bridenstine,” Sen. Cruz said. "It is worth noting that quite a number of astronauts at NASA have backgrounds very similar to that of Representative Bridenstine’s. He will be able to lead them as one who served a mission similar to the ones that they had served in and are serving now. And I have no doubt that he will be an effective leader of NASA and will work to ensure the safety of the men and women who step forward to save our country, that he will work to lead NASA in a way to ensure that America continues to lead in space.”

Watch Sen. Cruz’s speech on the confirmation of Jim Bridenstine here. Sen. Cruz’s speech may be read below:

“Mr. President, I rise to support the upcoming confirmation this week of my friend Jim Bridenstine to be administrator of NASA. 

“We are now in our second year without a Senate-confirmed administrator of NASA.

“Not only has that been bad for the United States, but it’s also been bad for the commercial space industry, and for NASA. It has been bad for all of us who prioritize restoring and strengthening America’s leadership in space.

“NASA needs a strong leader. And it will have that strong leader in Jim Bridenstine. 

“I serve as the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee’s Space Subcommittee, and I am proud and deeply gratified that President Trump chose to nominate Representative Jim Bridenstine to lead NASA.

“I can think of very few people that I know who are more inspirational than Jim.

“Unfortunately, throughout Representative Bridenstine’s confirmation process we have seen cynical politicians attempting to malign his character, despite the fact that he has spent his entire adult life in public service.

“Jim Bridenstine is a veteran, and a war hero. He is a man of deep character, and deep integrity.

“Having served our nation in combat as a fighter pilot, he earned the respect of the men and women who served under his command. 

“Representative Bridenstine’s combat missions included airborne battlefield command and control and tactical air control flights in support of the liberation of Iraq, controlling over 180 kill box interdiction and close-air support missions resulting in the destruction of countless tanks, armored vehicles and time-sensitive fixed targets. 

“Representative Bridenstine later transitioned to the F/A-18 Hornet while on active duty, serving at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center, Top Gun command, where he flew both the E-2 and F28, there receiving fitness reports from his commanding officers which rated him as, quote, ‘the number one Hawkeye pilot and weapons and tactic instructor,’ and quote, ‘the most tactically skilled pilot in the E-2 community.’ 

“That is a remarkable record, and it is one that has been followed by honorable and distinguished service in the United States Congress. 

“Throughout my time in the Senate I have been blessed to meet with a number of astronauts. It is worth noting that quite a number of those astronauts at NASA have backgrounds very similar to that of Representative Bridenstine’s. He will be able to lead them as one who served a mission similar to the ones that they had served in and are serving now.

“I have no doubt that he will be an effective leader of NASA and will work to ensure the safety of the men and women who step forward to save our country, that he will work to lead NASA in a way to ensure that America continues to lead in space.

“And that in particular that NASA and the commercial space sector working hand in hand will move forward to implement the bipartisan commitment that this Congress has made that man will go back to space and will go to Mars. And that in particular that the first foot that sets on the soil of Mars will be an American astronaut landing to explore that next frontier.

“And so, I urge my colleagues to put aside partisan politics if this vote were on the merits Representative Bridenstine should be confirmed one hundred to nothing on the merits. I urge our colleagues to come together so that we can have a strong leader of NASA, an honorable war hero, and a leader who will lead space exploration going forward.”

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