Don’t Be Surprised if Trump Keeps Nelson at NASA

The two met at the prayer breakfast, and now Nelson's prayer partners are in place to lobby for him

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Sen. John Thune (R-SD), now the incoming Senate Majority Leader, joined Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), now administrator of NASA, for a Feb. 3, 2017, Everglades tour. (Screengrab / WPLG video.)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is a longtime Democrat, but if he wants to stay on in the second Donald Trump administration, he now has a pair of powerful allies who can lobby for him.

Nelson is so invested in space that he was one of the first members of Congress to go there, back in 1986. But he’s also intermingled his personal religious activities and beliefs with his government work in ways that reflect the agenda and modus operandi of the right-wing, theocratic Fellowship Foundation. (I’ll have details in upcoming reporting.)

As I’ve reported over the years, The Fellowship has used congressional allies to build political networks fighting LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights around the globe. International advocacy groups warn that participating in Fellowship prayer breakfasts facilitates the group’s efforts.

There is, of course, no telling what Trump might do with any of his nominations. But appointing Nelson could help Trump appear bipartisan and magnanimous.

Nelson would likely enjoy solid support from both his former Democratic Senate colleagues and a significant number of Republican Christian extremists. Most media are unlikely to be aware of or touch on Nelson’s work with The Fellowship, which has gotten millions from Trump megadonors.

Nelson and Trump connected directly at The Fellowship’s signature event, the National Prayer Breakfast (NPB), just a couple weeks into Trump’s first administration. But Nelson has even stronger ties with two Fellowship Republicans stepping into key leadership roles within the Trump administration.

Nelson’s ties to The Fellowship date back to the 1980s. Some have been reported before, most notably by author Jeff Sharlet some 15 years ago. Since then, however, a new Republican senator joined The Fellowship. And Nelson deepened his friendship with another.