Homophobic climate change denier Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) “has made a career out of ignoring scientific expertise” says Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). Naturally, Bridenstine was approved 50-49, along party lines, to be our next NASA administrator.
From Huffington Post:
In a June 2013 speech, Bridenstine peddled a debunked argument made by climate change skeptics, claiming that global temperatures “stopped rising 10 years ago.” He said “the people of Oklahoma are ready to accept” an apology from then-President Barack Obama for what Bridenstine called a “gross misallocation” of funds for climate change research instead of weather forecasting.
Critics have also pointed to Bridenstine’s history of opposing equal rights for same-sex couples ― in 2013, he suggested LGBTQ people are sexually immoral ― and voiced concern about his ability to manage an agency of more than 17,000 employees. Bridenstine has no formal background in science or engineering.
The former Navy Reserve pilot previously served as executive director of the Air and Space Museum & Planetarium in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During his tenure, the nonprofit suffered financial losses, and an investigation by the Project On Government Oversight found that Bridenstine used the nonprofit’s resources to benefit a company he co-owned, according to a report from The Daily Beast this week.
Remember when Idiocracy was a work of fiction?