Cantwell to Vote Yes on Isaacman for NASA Administrator, Citing Commitment to Competition, Science

Cantwell: "We need to be investing in NASA's missions, not gutting them […] During his nomination process, Mr. Isaacman emphasized the importance of developing a pipeline of future scientists, engineers, researchers, [and] astronauts."

VIDEO

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, spoke on the Senate floor this morning in support of the nomination of Jared Isaacman to serve as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), citing his commitment to NASA's science mission and winning the race to the moon against China.

"As my colleagues know, the President's budget request called for cutting NASA's budget nearly a quarter, its workforce by nearly a third, and its science funding by half. Simply put, this is not the way we're going to win the race to the moon or accomplish anything else enduring for that matter," Sen. Cantwell said.

"Fortunately, I believe Mr. Isaacman recognizes that some of the most talented people in America work at NASA," she continued. I know the presiding officer agrees with this, and that we need to be investing in NASA's mission, not gutting them. During his nomination process, Mr. Isaacman emphasized the importance of developing a pipeline of future scientists, engineers, researchers, [and] astronauts to support the science and technology development and align with NASA's objectives. I strongly agree."

Sen. Cantwell also emphasized the importance of winning the race to the moon against China by reopening the competition for the Artemis mission lunar lander.

"In September, witnesses told the Commerce Committee that the SpaceX lunar lander would not be ready to put Americans back on the moon, either in 2027 or 2028," Sen. Cantwell said. "This would almost certainly mean we would lose the race to China, which was unacceptable. In response, Secretary Duffy directed NASA to reopen the competition for Artemis lunar landing mission to ensure that a lander can be ready by the end of 2028 and I believe this was a correct decision, and I am pleased that our nominee, Mr. Isaacman, agrees."

In September, Sen. Cantwell pressed Isaacman on his commitment to protect critical NASA programs from DOGE cuts and support the Artemis mission following reports that the President's FY2026 budget could slash NASA's science funding by up to 50%. Cuts in funding could severely threaten critical science and research programs across the administration.

Sen. Cantwell is a champion for American leadership in space exploration. In March, Sen. Cantwell joined her colleagues in introducing the bipartisan NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025, which sets clear near-term priorities for NASA programs, advances American leadership in deep space exploration, prevents a gap in low Earth orbit leadership and capability, and upholds scientific ingenuity.

In July 2023, Sen. Cantwell brought NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, regional aerospace industry leaders, STEM education leaders, and students together for a Washington State Space Summit, held at Blue Origin HQ in Kent. The summit included a trade show with 20 space companies, industry groups, and educators from across the State of Washington followed by a panel discussion.

In 2022, Sen. Cantwell celebrated the successful launch of NASA's Artemis I mission. Washington state contributes significantly to the Artemis program with more than providing components either for Artemis I or for later Artemis missions, including General Dynamics in Bothell, L3 Harris-Aerojet Rocketdyne in Redmond, Blue Origin in Kent, and Toray Composites Material in Tacoma. A full list of Washington companies supporting the Artemis program is available HERE.

In November 2019, Sen. Cantwell co-sponsored the bipartisan NASA Authorization Act of 2020, which aimed to recognize the Artemis missions in U.S. law for the first time. To provide certainty and stability for the program, language authorizing the Artemis missions and requiring NASA to establish stringent oversight requirements was eventually incorporated into the CHIPS & Science Act, which Cantwell spearheaded through Congress. The CHIPS & Science Act was signed into law on August 9, 2022.

TRANSCRIPT OF THE SENATOR'S REMARKS TODAY:

Sen. Cantwell: Mr. President, I support the Isaacman nomination. In fact, I supported him the first time he was nominated. He was not pushed through the Senate, not the usual path for somebody to be nominated, and then their nomination reversed, but then supported again by the President. But I do believe Mr. Isaacman is capable of successfully navigating the challenges facing the agency.

I want to take a minute and thank Secretary Duffy for serving as an excellent stewardship of NASA during his tenure where we didn't have an acting administrator. I hope the experience is giving the secretary an increased appreciation for the expertise and research capabilities that NASA brings to bear in developing technology to protect aviation safety and the competitiveness of our aeronautics sector.

That's clearly an important missing aspect of the FAA having the best technology and the best understanding of how that technology impacts aviation safety. So, [I support] more partnerships here. I also want to highlight a key decision that Secretary Duffy made that I believe is important to our national leadership in human space exploration.

In September, witnesses told the Commerce Committee that the SpaceX lunar lander would not be ready to put Americans back on the moon, either in 2027 or 2028. This would almost certainly mean we would lose the race to China, which was unacceptable. In response, Secretary Duffy directed NASA to reopen the competition for Artemis lunar landing mission to ensure that a lander can be ready by the end of 2028 and I believe this was a correct decision, and I am pleased that our nominee, Mr. Isaacman, agrees.

I would also like to note that Secretary Duffy came to NASA in a particularly perilous time for the agency, as evidenced in a whistleblower report that my office released in September. Before Secretary Duffy arrived, OMB Director Vought had been pushing NASA to implement dangerous cuts in the President's proposed budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, disregarding the law and the impacts on NASA's mission and safety.

As my colleagues know, the President's budget request called for cutting NASA's budget nearly a quarter, its workforce by nearly a third, and its science funding by half. Simply put, this is not the way we're going to win the race to the moon or accomplish anything else enduring for that matter.

Fortunately, I believe Mr. Isaacman recognizes that some of the most talented people in America work at NASA. I know the presiding officer agrees with this, and that we need to be investing in NASA's missions, not gutting them. During his nomination process, Mr. Isaacman emphasized the importance of developing a pipeline of future scientists, engineers, researchers, [and] astronauts to support the science and technology development and align with NASA's objectives. I strongly agree.

I look forward to working with Administrator Isaacman on the future STEM talent with both NASA and more broadly with the aerospace and innovation sector. Fair questions have been raised about Mr. Isaacsman's Project Athena strategic plan, which was drafted in May and linked to the press. I have asked Mr. Isaacman about this plan.

In response, he told me the plan was intended to be a proposed approach to collecting data and information from NASA and the space community, serving as a starting point in an in-depth conversation with NASA's management employees on how to ensure NASA remains the world's preeminent aerospace and technology organization.

Mr. Isaacman assured me that this plan was not part of a misguided effort to sell off capacities or slash the workforce or have reckless actions like DOGE had proposed earlier. He promised to share with us the results of the study and analysis with Congress and to engage in a dialog with the committee before doing any implementation. I take Mr. Isaacman at his word, and I do look forward to working with him on these particular promises.

So, Mr. President, I know you're a huge supporter of Mr. Isaacman and have helped promote his re-nomination. We're here now with an important mission between this institution and what our national objectives are in going back to the moon. I am optimistic that Mr. Isaacman will bring a steady hand and clear vision to NASA.

I hope we can partner together, all of us, to achieve this incredible thing for the American people. I know it is time for us to return [to the moon], and there is much at stake with international competition. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting Mr. Isaacman on the floor.

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