By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Dec 8 - The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee voted late on Monday to advance the nomination of billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead NASA.
Last week, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the space agency touted his plans to put U.S. astronauts back on the moon before China gets there and sought to portray himself as independent from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Isaacman, an e-commerce mogul who twice flew to orbit on all-private astronaut missions as a customer
and collaborator with SpaceX, told senators that falling behind in the moon race with China "could shift the balance of power here on Earth." The committee voted 18-10 to advance his nomination.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz said: "You are as committed to American supremacy in the final frontier as is this committee and the entire Senate. My hope is that you will be confirmed and in this role before the end of this year." He also won support of the panel's top Democrat, Senator Maria Cantwell.
"NASA is faced with a great competitor moving at impressive speed. Competition can be a good thing, but this is not a race we can afford to lose," Isaacman said in written responses to questions from lawmakers.
Isaacman added he is unsure if NASA layoffs were needed after more than 4,000 employees, or 20%, had left the agency since the Trump administration offered buyouts.
"Given how much time has passed and how much has changed since then, I am not certain a comprehensive reorganization, at least on the scale previously contemplated, is even still necessary," he said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Jamie Freed)
