Jim Bridenstine Bio, Age, Net worth, Education, NASA administrator, Wife, Salary

Jim Bridenstine Biography

Jim Bridenstine (b. James Frederick Bridenstine 15 June 1975) is an American politician and Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) who was born and brought up in Ann Arbor, MI, USA. He served as the United States Representative for Oklahoma’s 1st congressional district, based in Tulsa between Jan 3, 2013, and April 23, 2018. Bridenstine is expected to resign as the head of NASA on Jan 20, 2021.

On Sept 1, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Bridenstine to be the Administrator of NASA; and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 19, 2018. He has also served on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology during his time in Congress.

He is the first elected official member to serve as the NASA Administrator. His nomination was controversial, due to his lack of qualifications in science and his rejection at the time of the scientific consensus on climate change, a position which he has since reversed.

Read on for Jim Bridenstine Bio-Age-Net worth-Education-NASA administrator-Wife-Salary-Children, and more.

Jim Bridenstine Age

Jim Bridenstine is 45 years of age as of 2020, he was born on 15 June 1975 in Ann Arbor, MI, United States. He celebrates his birthday on 15 June every year and his birth sign is Gemini. Bridenstine will be 46 years old on 16 June 2021.

Jim Bridenstine Education

James attended Jenks High School when his family moved to Tusla, OK. Furthermore, he was a member of the school’s swimming team and a one-time swimmer of the year. He completed highschool in 1993 and immediately joined Rice University in Houston, TX. However, he injured his shoulder in his second year at Rice University. He graduated in Economics, Psychology, and Business in 1998.

However, he later moved to Cornell University where he studied and graduated with an MBA in 2009.

Jim Bridenstine Family

Jim Bridenstine Parents

Jim was born to both parents in a small-sized family in Ann Arbor, MI. His father was an accountant while his mother was an elementary teacher. There isn’t any information available about his siblings, however, as soon as additional information about Bridenstine’s father, mother, brothers, and sisters is available we shall update all his family members.

Jim Bridenstine Wife

Jim is happily married to his lovely wife Michelle Bridenstine. Bridenstine married the former Michelle Deanne Ivory in Fort Worth, TX on Nov 6, 2004, in a colorful and blissful wedding ceremony. Jim and his lovely wife Michelle Bridenstine are blessed with three children. The Bridenstine family resides in Ann Arbor, MI.

Jim Bridenstine Image

 

Jim Bridenstine Children

Jim Bridenstine and his wife are blessed with three children Sarah Bridenstine (daughter), Grant Bridenstine (son), and Walker Bridenstine (son)

Jim Bridenstine Salary

Jim Bridenstine’s salary is approximately $185,100 annually. The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) salary is roughly $185,100 annually.

Jim Bridenstine Net Worth

Jim Bridenstine has an estimated Net Worth of $2 Million as of 2020. This includes his assets, money, and income. His primary source of income is his career as a politician, businessman, and Administrator the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Through his various sources of income, Bridenstine has been able to accumulate a good fortune but prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.

Jim Bridenstine Measurements and Facts

Here are some interesting facts and body measurements you should know about Jim.

Jim Bridenstine Bio and Wiki

• Full Names: James Frederick Bridenstine
• Popular As: Jim Bridenstine
• Gender: Male
• Occupation / Profession: Politician and NASA Administrator
• Nationality: American
• Race / Ethnicity: White
• Religion: Not Known
• Sexual Orientation: Straight

Jim Bridenstine Birthday

• Age / How Old?: 45 years (2020)
• Zodiac Sign: Gemini
• Date of Birth: 15 June 1975
• Place of Birth: Ann Arbor, MI
• Birthday: 15 June

Jim Bridenstine Body Measurements

• Body Measurements: Not Available
• Height / How Tall?: Not Known
• Weight: Not Known
• Eye Color: Hazel
• Hair Color: Brown
• Shoe Size: Not Available

Jim Bridenstine Family and Relationship

• Father (Dad): Not Known
• Mother: Not Known
• Siblings (Brothers and Sisters): Not Known
• Marital Status: Married
• Wife/Spouse: Married to Michelle Bridenstine
• Dating / Girlfriend: Not Applicable
• Children:  Sons (Grant Bridenstine and Walker Bridenstine) Daughter(Sarah Bridenstine)

Jim Bridenstine Net Worth and Salary

• Net Worth: $2 Million
• Salary: $185,100 annually
• Source of Income: Politician and NASA Administrator

Jim Bridenstine House and Cars

• Place of living: US
• Cars: Car Brand to be Updated

Jim Bridenstine Military service

Jim Bridenstine is a former executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum, Planetarium and Naval Aviator in both the active duty United States Navy and the United States Naval Reserve where he flew the E-2C Hawkeye aircraft as part of a carrier air wing with the former and in Central and South America in support of the War on Drugs with the latter.

In 2015, he transferred his Reserve commission and joined the Oklahoma Air National Guard. He served as an Eagle Scout. As of 2016, Bridenstine is a State of Oklahoma record holder in the 200M long course freestyle relay

Jim Bridenstine U.S. House of Representatives

• Jim Bridenstine In the Republican primary election on June 26, 2012, Bridenstine defeated five-term incumbent U.S. Congressman John Sullivan 54% to 46%. Although he identified with the Tea Party and was perceived as running to Sullivan’s right, Bridenstine’s actual policy statements differed little from those of Sullivan. In the November 2012 general election, he defeated Democratic nominee John Olson 63%–32% and won all five counties in the district.
• Bridenstine had effectively clinched a seat in Congress by ousting Sullivan in the Republican primary. The 1st is a heavily Republican district with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+16 and has been in Republican hands since 1987. While in Congress Bridenstine joined the House Freedom Caucus with other conservatives. In 2014 Bridenstine ran unopposed in the 2014 election.
• In 2016, he retained his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 2016 election. Following the 2016 presidential election, Bridenstine was viewed as a possible candidate for either NASA administrator or Secretary of the Air Force under the Donald Trump administration. Bridenstine had already declared that he would not run for re-election in 2018 after making a three-term pledge.

Jim Bridenstine Committee assignments

Bridenstine sat on the Committee on Armed Services and Committee on Science, Space, and Technology during the 113th, and 115th Congresses. Within the Armed Services Committee, Bridenstine has sat on the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces and Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. Within the Science Committee, Bridenstine has sat on the Subcommittee on Environment (Chairman) and Subcommittee on Space. He is a member of the Freedom Caucus and the House Baltic Caucus.

Jim Bridenstine Campaign financing

In the 2014 election cycle, Bridenstine’s top campaign contributors were Northrop Grumman, Latshaw Drilling, American Optometric Association, Citizens United, and the Every Republican is Crucial Political Action Committee.

He received $29,000 from donors associated with the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians and the Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan (AFAZ), per an analysis of the Center for Responsive Politics.

Jim Bridenstine Ethics investigation

Bridenstine’s amendment to the defense appropriations bill came following a visit to Baku upon invitation of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic for 10 members of Congress and 32 Staff members that became the subject of an ethics investigation.

The members received numerous gifts during the trip totaling thousands of dollars in value. In 2013, Bridenstine returned two of the gifts (a pair of rugs worth several thousand dollars) back to the donor.

He turned over remaining gifts received during the trip to the House Clerk in 2015, following a watchdog report that indicated that the source of the funding for the trip had not been properly declared. The OCE and House Ethics committee found that lawmakers and aides had no way of knowing that the trip was funded improperly.

Jim Bridenstine Ted Cruz campaign

Bridenstine was one of three co-chairs of the Veterans Coalition supporting Ted Cruz for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential campaign. He was joined in “Vets for Ted” by former U.S. Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire and Texas State Senator Brian Birdwell. Bill Connor was national director of the coalition.

Jim Bridenstine NASA administrator

Nomination

• On Sept 1, 2017, the White House announced that Jim Bridenstine was President Donald Trump’s preferred pick to head NASA. The choice was quickly criticized by both Republican and Democratic politicians, saying that NASA should be headed by a “space professional”, not a politician or a Trump ally. Critics drew attention to Bridenstine’s lack of formal qualifications in science or engineering (unlike previous appointees to that post).
• Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio said that Bridenstine’s political history could prove controversial and delay the confirmation process, saying “I just think it could be devastating for the space program”, while Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, also of Florida and a former Payload Specialist for NASA who flew on STS-61-C, said “The head of NASA ought to be a space professional, not a politician.”
• CNN found that Bridenstine’s Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts were entirely deleted, while most of the interviews on his Soundcloud were deleted, at a time when Congress would be examining his record for his confirmation hearing.
• Jim Bridenstine has criticized NASA spending on climate science and has supported increased privatization of U.S. civil and military space activities. According to NPR, Bridenstine’s climate change denial views “are sure to alarm scientists, because NASA conducts a huge amount of global research on climate change.”
• NASA finds that climate-warming trends are “extremely likely due to human activities” and has written on its website that “the small amount of dissent tends to come from a few vocal scientists who are not experts in the climate field or do not understand the scientific basis of long-term climate processes”.
• Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said he was “very impressed with [Bridenstine’s] deep knowledge of space technology issues and his record of strong leadership in promoting positive change.” The decision to pick Bridenstine was also praised by Senator Ted Cruz.
• According to Science Magazine, “many expect that Bridenstine, who has written about the commercial potential of exploiting lunar resources, could shift the agency’s emphasis [from its long-term mission of sending humans to Mars] toward the moon.” ABC News wrote that Bridenstine is in favor of both human missions to the Moon and Mars.
• The U.S. Senate narrowly confirmed Bridenstine on April 19, 2018, by a party-line vote of 50–49. Jim Bridenstine became the first member of Congress to lead NASA. Bridenstine was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence at the NASA Headquarters building in Washington, D.C. on April 23, 2018.

Jim Bridenstine Political positions

Jim Bridenstine has focused heavily on space policy during his tenure in Congress, stating “[o]ur very way of life depends on space, the way we communicate, the way we navigate, the way we produce food and energy, the way we conduct banking.” In April 2016 at the 32nd Annual Space Symposium, Bridenstine introduced H.R. 4945, the American Space Renaissance Act, comprehensive reform legislation with provisions affecting national security, civil, and commercial space policy.

In addition, Jim Bridenstine has proposed legislation related to the regulatory process overseeing certain non-traditional space activities and helped secure funding for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation. Recognizing his efforts, in 2015 SpaceNews named Bridenstine as one of five game changers in the world in space.

Jim Bridenstine Environment and climate

• Before becoming the chief administrator of NASA, Jim Bridenstine rejected the scientific consensus behind global climate change and in a 2013 speech on the House floor stated that global temperatures stopped rising ten years earlier.
• Jim Bridenstine criticized the Obama administration for spending “30 times as much money” on climate science as on weather forecasting; PolitiFact said that assertion was “mostly false”.
• By May 2018, Bridenstine had reversed his position on climate change. At a town hall meeting in Washington D.C., Bridenstine stated that “I fully believe and know that the climate is changing. I also know that humans beings are contributing to it in a major way.
• Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. We’re putting it into the atmosphere in volumes that we haven’t seen, and that greenhouse gas is warming the planet. That is absolutely happening, and we are responsible for it.
• In 2017, Jim Bridenstine supported James Langevin’s legislation requiring the Defense Department to report on the effects of climate change on military installations and strategic battle plans. According to journalist Keith Cowing, Bridenstine’s support for the Langevin amendment “was widely seen as being instrumental in its passage.”
• In the 114th Congress, Jim Bridenstine served as the Chairman of the Environment Subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. In that role, he has pushed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “… to integrate commercial data into its weather forecasting models.” On September 2016, NOAA awarded two contracts to private weather satellite firms to provide data for its use.

Jim Bridenstine Speech

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine gave a stirring speech on Feb 12 before a Christian ministry at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California. The event was a fundraiser for Capitol Ministries, a nonprofit group that aims to influence “every stratum of government” with evangelical teachings of the Bible.

During his roughly 25-minute speech, large portions of which Business Insider listened to, Bridenstine contrasted the harrowing failures of NASA’s Apollo program with the agency’s ultimate success: the first crewed lunar missions. He also explained how Apollo 8 astronauts read Bible verses while orbiting the moon and described how Buzz Aldrin took Holy Communion after the Apollo 11 mission landed on the lunar surface.

This much might be expected from a NASA administrator using his position to connect with a religious audience. Former heads of the space agency occasionally took a similar approach. But some ethics and legal experts outside NASA have expressed concern over Bridenstine’s speech. They believe it ran afoul of the establishment clause of the First Amendment, which outlines a separation of church and state, and might have also violated ethics rules for federal executives.

At issue are portions of Bridenstine’s speech that these experts claim endorse Capitol Ministries and its religious message. Toward the end of his talk, for example, the NASA administrator echoed words that the group’s founder, Ralph Drollinger, had said in a previous speech. “I love what Ralph said earlier: We’re not trying to Christianize the US government. We believe in institutional separation, but we also believe in influence,” Bridenstine said. “

And that’s a big distinction and an important distinction, and that’s why I love this ministry.” According to Craig Holman, a government-ethics lobbyist at the nonprofit consumer-advocacy organization Public Citizen, that statement is “a fairly obvious endorsement of a specific religion and a specific church.”

If Bridenstine had made these and other statements as a private citizen, Holman said, he’d have no objection. But Business Insider confirmed with NASA that Bridenstine was speaking officially as the agency’s administrator, a top-level representative of the US government. Because of this, Holman said, the statements constitute “federal resources being spent to promote a specific church” and that, he and others argue, is unconstitutional.

Virginia Canter, the chief ethics counsel at the group Citizens for Responsible Ethics, said Bridenstine might have also violated sections of the executive branch’s standards of conduct. “One’s personal beliefs must be respected, but when appearing in an official capacity, you have to adhere to certain ethical standards,” Canter, who worked as a US government-ethics official for more than 20 years, told Business Insider.

“One is not to give the impression that you are officially endorsing any products or service or enterprise.” But some advocates for religious freedom disagree, arguing that the Constitution allows federal officials to freely express their religious beliefs as long as they do not overtly try to establish a government religion.

‘We’re not trying to Christianize America’

On its website, Capitol Ministries says nine of 15 members in President Donald Trump’s cabinet are sponsors of the ministry’s Bible studies. In his speech, Bridenstine called Capitol Ministries’ work “critically important” for “the members of this administration.”

The portion of Drollinger’s speech to which Bridenstine referred, in context, was this:

“Now we’re not trying to Christianize America I know that the secular media often says, ‘Yeah, Ralph’s a Christian nationalist he’s trying to change America into a theocracy.’ We believe in institutional separation, but we don’t believe in influential separation. So we’re all about trying to influence believers and unbelievers with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We could not change our political democratic structure as it now stands.

And when you meet with the cabinet members every week at Bible study, they get suspicious of you. So be praying in that regard: That our ministries, not only overseas but in America, in our state capitals, as well as in local government will all continue to grow.”

In addition to highlighting the idea of “institutional separation” without “influential separation,” Bridenstine said he disagreed with the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2002 decision that requiring a student to say “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. In that case (Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow), the court decided the words violated the establishment clause in the First Amendment.

Bridenstine said the case for keeping “under God” in the pledge was lost because lawyers defending its use “did not make the argument” that removing it would, in his view, establish that “our national religion is atheism.” (The US Supreme Court reversed the decision in 2004 on a procedural matter.)

“I can tell you as a former member of the House of Representatives that there are all kinds of incentives to have the right people do the wrong thing,” Bridenstine said. “They are all over Washington, DC.”

He added: “The question is this: How do we get the right people to do the right thing? The way to do that is you look inside your heart and you spend time with like-minded believers in the scripture and praying and looking really for who you are.

“I am a beneficiary of this ministry, and so are so many others in Washington, DC both when I was in the House, and, of course, now being a part of the administration,” Bridenstine said in his speech. “Thank you all for what you do, because this ministry is important for our country. God bless you.”

‘This is not permissible’

The establishment clause says “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” And it “prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another,” according to Cornell Law School.

Bob Jacobs, NASA’s deputy administrator for communications, confirmed that Bridenstine attended Capitol Ministries’ dinner in his official capacity and received clearance to do so from the agency’s Office of General Counsel. He said the office usually does not review the content of speeches. Holman said this official distinction is precisely the reason he believes that the speech “runs afoul of the establishment clause.”

“This is not permissible,” Holman said. “If he had done it in a private capacity, it would have been OK. He could have said whatever he wanted. But it began as an official speech. Had he mentioned other religions every once in a while, it would have been OK. But toward the end of his speech, he really promoted a specific church.”

Holman said he sees the incident as part of “the ongoing abuses of public office by Trump appointees.” The White House declined to comment on this and other information in this story. Federal officials routinely attend nonsecular events. Jacobs said “it is not unusual for the NASA administrator to be invited to and speak to religious organizations,”

but he added that administrators “still have to meet the standards of ethical conduct and employees have to act impartially and not give preferential treatment to any private organization or individual.” Ryan Jayne, a staff attorney with the Freedom from Religion Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates church-state separation, told Business Insider that Bridenstine’s speech struck him as “really alarming.”

“It appears Bridenstine has been convinced that the government promoting religion generally, or even promoting Christianity in particular, is acceptable. This is inaccurate and subjects NASA to legal liability,” Jayne said. “He’s specifically saying, ‘This ministry is having a major influence in my decision-making as a government administrator.'”

Jim Bridenstine Endorsements

Keep in mind that ratings done by special interest groups often do not represent a non-partisan stance. In addition, some groups select votes that tend to favor members of one political party over another, rather than choosing votes based solely on issues concerns. Nevertheless, they can be invaluable in showing where an incumbent has stood on a series of votes in the past one or two years, especially when ratings by groups on all sides of an issue are compared. Website links, if available, and descriptions of the organizations offering performance evaluations are accessible by clicking on the name of the group.

Most performance evaluations are displayed in a percentage format. However, some organizations present their ratings in the form of a letter grade or endorsement based on voting records, interviews, survey results and/or sources of campaign funding. For consistency and ease in understanding, Vote Smart converts all scores into a percentage when possible.

Jim Bridenstine for Congress

• The US Senate on Thursday confirmed Jim Bridenstine, a Republican Congress member from Oklahoma, to be the next administrator of NASA. The post has remained vacant since January 2017, when Charles Bolden, the space agency’s leader under President Barack Obama, stepped down. Bridenstine, 42, brings some odd qualifications to the job, and some controversy.
• Typically, NASA administrators are chosen from within NASA’s ranks, come up through the military, or have a background in science. Bridenstine has none of that. His qualifications: He’s former Navy pilot who once ran the Air and Space Museum in Tulsa. He also sits on the House Committee that oversees NASA. The third-term representative is now the first member of Congress to hold the administrator job.
• Even members of Bridenstine’s own party have voiced concerns over what putting a politician in charge could mean for the future of the agency. As a politician, Bridenstine has hedged on climate change, an issue NASA scientists study and track in many different ways. During his confirmation hearing in November, Bridenstine agreed that humans are the driving force behind climate change, but he would not agree with the assertion that human activity is the primary cause of it.
• It’s an odd position to hold as the leader of an agency that provides some of the most comprehensive data on climate change in the world. NASA has a staff of 17,000 and a budget of nearly $19 billion (not to mention the numerous contractors it works with).
• Jim Bridenstine’s experience of managing a museum in Tulsa pales in comparison to the enormous complexity of NASA. Plus, there are new questions, raised by reporting from the Daily Beast, about whether Jim Bridenstine used funds from the Tulsa Air and Space Museum to prop up a private venture.
• He reportedly ran the museum into a financial loss. Bridenstine will also be controversial because he’s been outspoken against LGBTQ rights. In 2013, he called the Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage a “disappointment.” He has also spoken out on the House floor criticizing the Boy Scouts of America’s decision to allowed LGBTQ members. In a speech, he charged that the left wing in the US wants to “reshape organizations like the Boy Scouts into instruments for social change.”

Jim Bridenstine Trump

President Donald Trump first nominated Bridenstine to the position in September, and he was cleared by the Senate Commerce Committee in November.

But it was never clear if Bridenstine could clear the 50 Senate votes needed to nab the job. He faced unanimous opposition from Democrats and from a few within his own party. Notably, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was worried about giving the job to a politician.

NASA is “the one federal mission which has largely been free of politics,” Rubio said in September, echoing the same concerns as his Florida colleague Sen. Bill Nelson, a former astronaut and the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee. “I just think it could be devastating for the space program,” Rubio said.

Rubio ultimately voted Thursday in favor of Bridenstine’s nomination. The day before, he cited concerns that NASA’s acting administrator, Robert Lightfoot, is set to retire at the end of the month. “While I wish the president would have nominated a space professional to run NASA,” Rubio said in a statement, he wanted to avoid “a gaping leadership void.”

But it was actually Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, who, in a surprise twist, cast what ended up being the deciding vote during both a procedural vote on Wednesday and a final vote on Thursday. It seems Flake may have changed his vote to gain leverage on other issues, like Cuba policy. The final vote was 50-to-49 in favor of confirmation.

What will Jim Bridenstine do at NASA?

It’s hard to know what Bridenstine’s plans for the agency are because he has so little experience in the area and hasn’t said much about them. But there will be challenges. NASA will be launching hugely important missions in the coming years, including the long-delayed and far over-budget James Webb Space Telescope. NASA also plans to launch the Parker Probe Plus, a spacecraft to study the sun and needs to decide whether to extend the mission of the International Space Station.

In the past, Jim Bridenstine has called for a permanent US lunar outpost. And during his confirmation hearing, he said that finishing the Space Launch System and Orion programs NASA’s unfinished next generation of rockets and spacecraft for human missions — will be critical for the space agency. He also said he’d work with Congress to decide the fate of the International Space Station, which is only funded until 2025.

In 2016, Bridenstine introduced the American Space Renaissance Act in the House. It never passed. But it serves as a guide to his ideas for space policy reform. Physics Today analyzed the legislation, and it’s clear that Bridenstine is keen on space exploration and less interested in understanding the Earth.

The bill calls for prioritizing the “expansion of the human sphere of influence throughout the Solar System.” It also calls for security of our satellites from space debris and foreign enemies. But Physics Today also notes that the bill would have eliminated the NASA objection of the “expansion of human knowledge of the Earth and of phenomena in the atmosphere and space.”

On earth science issues, Bridenstine has expressed enthusiasm about supporting research when it comes to weather forecasting. “My constituents get killed in tornadoes,” he once said at an industry conference. “I care about space.” And during his confirmation hearing, he said he wouldn’t let politics interfere with earth science research.

Much remains unclear. What we do know is that the Trump administration, as a whole, has been hostile to the idea of NASA as an earth science agency and left it to languish without a full-time administrator longer than any previous administration. In 2017, the administration proposed cutting $102 million from NASA’s earth science programs and eliminating four NASA earth science missions completely. Congress didn’t allow those cuts to come to pass. But NASA’s long-term future is far from assured.

For better or worse, the confirmation will break NASA out of the holding pattern it’s been in for the past year. The lapse in leadership has made it harder for the agency to plan long-term missions in space exploration.