Trump to tap House Republican as NASA chief: report

President Trump is close to tapping Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) to be NASA’s next administrator, the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday.

Two space industry sources who worked with the agency told the paper that his nomination has been seen as near certain for weeks. NASA officials declined to comment to the Chronicle.

{mosads}John Schumacher, a former NASA executive with significant space industry experience is expected to be tapped as deputy administrator for NASA. 

The NASA Watch website first reported Tuesday that Bridenstine and Schumacher would be tapped for the positions, and that there would be a formal announcement in September. 

Bridenstine is a Navy Reserve pilot and three-term congressman. He’s been a longtime advocate of the space program. In 2016, he introduced the American Space Renaissance Act, a bill aimed at modernizing the space program and supports privatizing some space missions. 

On his congressional website, Bridenstine called for new manned scientific missions to the Moon before the U.S. embarks on a mission to Mars. 

Schumacher is the vice president of Aerojet Rocketdyne, a government contractor tasked with developing NASA’s next generation Space Launch System. 

Bridenstine serves on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.