WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's choice to head NASA is facing a contentious Senate confirmation over his past comments dismissive of global warming as a man-made problem.
Trump has tapped three-term Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma to oversee the space agency, a job that often goes to astronauts or scientists. If confirmed, Bridenstine would be the first member of Congress to lead the agency during its nearly 60-year existence.
Both Republicans and Democrats forecast a battle over the nomination.
Bridenstine said in a 2013 speech on the House floor: "Global temperatures stopped rising 10 years ago. Global temperature changes, when they exist, correlate with sun output and ocean cycles."
NASA studies climate change and emphasizes that climate-warming trends are "extremely likely due to human activities."