Editor’s note: This is HUUUUUGE. And in a “surprise statement” no less. “Q” said to watch the resignations.
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Robert Lightfoot, the current Acting Administrator of NASA, just announced his retirement today in a surprise statement.
As of now, Lightfoot will be stepping down on April 30, 2018 after having served as the de facto chief of NASA for over a year, when he took over for his predecessor Charles Bolden. It’s worth noting that as the Acting Administrator, Lightfoot was never officially confirmed as the head of the space agency, but since the Senate never confirmed anybody to be Bolden’s replacement, leadership duties fell to Lightfoot.
The current frontrunner for the job has been Trump’s appointee Jim Bridenstine, but there’s still no clear indication that he’ll be confirmed for the position – Senate Democrats and even a few Republicans like Marco Rubio have opposed Bridenstine on the grounds that he has zero qualifications in science or engineering, and he’s dismissive of scientific consensus that humans caused climate change (NASA also studies our home planet’s climate).
It’s entirely possible that somebody else within NASA will be pushed into the “Acting” Administrator role once again, and NASA will continue to have no official leader as the agency faces a shaky future.
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