#Politics #NASA

Apollo created a space-industrial complex that motivated members of Congress to protect NASA legacy employees and infrastructure in their districts and states.

#Obama tried to change that but suffered terrible political blowback as a result.

Backed by Elon Musk, will #Trump try to return NASA to its NACA roots?

I doubt Trump knows, much less cares, what NACA was. But Elon sure knows. (2/x)

#Politics #NASA

If they try to reform NASA as the #ArsTechnica article suggests, the political fireworks on the Hill will be a true must-see 🍿 event.

Of course, Elon will be entirely self-serving. He will try to angle things so Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos) and other competitors are left out in the cold.

My suspicion is that, by the time any reform gets to the Hill, #Trump will have quit and been succeeded by #Vance. (3/x)

#Politics #NASA

That's where it gets interesting, because #Vance was a tech venture capialist. Vance and Elon are kindred spirits.

As VP, Vance will head the National Space Council, an advisory body. Some NSpCs have been more effective than others; the #Trump NSpC passed a number of policy changes and turned meetings into spectacles.

Representing Ohio as a senator, one can also expect Vance to try to direct NASA pork to the Glenn Center in Cleveland. (4/x)

#Politics #NASA

The #Trump administration tried to kill NASA's climate change programs, but Congress stopped him. It will be a different story this time; we know they intend to try to sell off NOAA and the National Weather Service. I'm sure Trump will try to end NASA's climate observation satellites; Elon will see a new profit center for Starlinks and probably support it.

So the question becomes ... (5/x)

#Politics #NASA

How loyal will Republican politicians be to the #Trump #MAGA agenda versus protecting the pork in their districts and states?

Will Rick Scott (R-FL), a potential Senate Majority Leader, dismantle #KSC to pass a destructive Trump agenda?

The potential for needed reform is there, but MAGA sees "reform" as blowing up government without any thought to the consequences.

A President Vance/Elon Musk team will have more of a clue than Trump/Musk, but I'm not sure that's good. (6/6)

@WordsmithFL
We can only hope Musk's candidates can pass a security check, despite his close association with Putin.

@MariaAragon64 #Trump waived security checks during his last administration. No doubt he'll do the same this time around.

@WordsmithFL Well, they’ll all be right in step. They’re all lemmings and they’ll follow him off the cliff

@VelvetDuchess It will be awful for all of us but, if #Trump drives the economy off a cliff as we fear, the Republicans will be in for a bloodbath in the 2026 midterm and the 2028 general. Assuming we still have elections.

@WordsmithFL We won’t have elections. I don’t think you guys really understand we won’t have a constitution. We won’t have a declaration of independence. We won’t have a bill of rights we won’t have voting rights we won’t be able to vote. I don’t think you really understand what a fascist dictator means

@VelvetDuchess Thank you for pointing out how stupid and ignorant I am.

@WordsmithFL You’re not we don’t know how to live anymore because what a Fascist Dictatorship will be like. Net Neutrality will be gone. There be States anymore so there won’t be States Rights.

@WordsmithFL I doubt Vance cares enough about Ohio to send money their way. The state served its purpose as a stepping stone. A Senator who endangers schoolkids in a small city in a state he’s supposed to represent and protect because lying about Haitians got him votes is all about himself.

@lifeinthePNW #Trump certainly won't care about what anyone thinks, or about the job losses. He just wants to get his criminal charges dropped and exact revenge on his enemies. Then he's back to the golf course and #Vance becomes president.

Vance can run for re-election. Trump can't. That's a significant difference, if one assumes we'll still have elections.