Senator Marco Rubio continues to demonstrate that he will do anything to curry favor with polluters who are his major source of campaign money. There has never been a more craven opportunist in Florida politics.
Senate Confirms Climate Change Denier To Lead NASA?
The Senate, last Thursday, narrowly confirmed Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), a former Navy pilot with no scientific credentials and who doesn�t believe humans are primarily to blame for the global climate crisis, to lead NASA.
Bridenstine will become the first elected official to hold the NASA administrator job. He joins a Cabinet already loaded with people who question the near-universal scientific consensus that climate change is real and that human activity is the primary cause.
The final vote ? which was 50-49 along party lines ? came one day after the Senate narrowly advanced Bridenstine�s nomination, thanks to an about-face from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and a key vote from Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). Rubio, who in September told Politico that he worried about Bridenstine�s nomination �could be devastating for the space program,� said in a statement Wednesday that he decided to support the nominee in order to avoid �a gaping leadership void� at NASA.
In a statement following Thursday�s vote, Bridenstine said he is humbled by the opportunity. �I look forward to working with the outstanding team at NASA to achieve the President�s vision for American leadership in space,� he said.
The Senate confirmation comes more than seven months after President Donald Trump tapped Bridenstine for the post. Democrats skewered Bridenstine during the confirmation process, pegging him as �extreme� and unqualified to oversee a scientific agency with an annual budget of more than $18 billion.
