NASA Deputy Nominee Wins Bipartisan Backing as Senate Panel Sets March 12 Vote

Overview

• Matt Anderson faced little opposition at his March 5 confirmation hearing, drawing support from both parties on the Senate Commerce Committee.
• The committee scheduled an executive session on March 12 to decide whether to advance his nomination to the full Senate.
• Anderson, a retired Air Force colonel with nearly 5,000 flight hours who now works at CACI International and with the Space Force Association, outlined a safety-focused leadership approach.
• He endorsed the committee’s newly approved NASA authorization bill that aligns with Isaacman’s accelerated Artemis plan, including support for commercial stations and extending the ISS to 2032.
• Artemis 2 remains slated for early April, and senators highlighted beating China to a crewed lunar landing as a top priority, while NIST nominee Arvind Raman drew tougher questioning over the agency’s role in AI standards.