NASA Landing Team To Be Replaced by "Beachhead Team"?
Keith’s note: Charles Miller has joined the NASA Landing Team. No word yet as to whether the conflict of interest checks for Alan Lindenmoyer and Alan Stern have been completed. Given that Steve Cook (who works for a SLS subcontractor) made it onto the team to work SLS issues, this should not be taking as long as it has. Then again the presence of these commercial add-ons to the NASA Landing Team was imposed upon NASA Landing Team leader Chris Shank by Trump Tower to correct an imbalance in team expertise so some foot dragging is to be expected.
Given the rapidly approaching Inauguration (the point at which all Transition Team activities halt) Chris Shank has been proposing a “Beachhead Team” that would start work at NASA on 20 January with himself as Chief of Staff. Shank’s proposal is that his job and others on the Beachhead Team would only last for 120 days and that the new NASA Administrator would then pick their own permanent team. This of course assumes that a new NASA Administrator is named and that they get through the confirmation process within 120 days without hitting the traffic jam posed by some of the more controversial appointees that looms ahead. Based on prior experience, when “temporary” people arrive at the 9th floor at NASA headquarters, they tend to hang around for a long time.
Does anybody know how many faces change at NASA with the new Administrator? How many deputies and the like? What about the various centers around the country- does the leadership change there as well?
The “Plum Book” is a book of several thousand jobs across the Executive Branch that can be filled or, after 120 days post Senate confirmation, can be replaced. Google “Federal Plum Book”, search for NASA, and you’ll find ~50 jobs that, in one way or another, serve at the pleasure of the President. Only three are Senate-confirmed: Admin, Deputy, and CFO. There are several
non-career slots and “Schedule C” slots and then permanent SES slots that can be appointed within the limits of the SES program.
Thank goodness I am not trying to get ANY of these jobs at NASA.
I don’t believe any White House of either party has ever appointed that many people. The highest number probably never reached more than 15 to 18, if that.
I agree, Alan. The Plum Book counts every AA, every Center Director, the General Counsel and all of the Associate General Counsels, and all of the Center General Counsels. It’s kind of weird.
If you just add up the Senate Confirm, Schedule C, and NonCareer it’s like around 20, like you said.
All the other jobs are career SES, and are only moved if an Administrator wants to clean house. Dan and Mike did more of that than Sean and Charlie, as I recall.
Totally agree.
He’s talking about the number of people a president (or his appointed administrator) could legally replace. The number of people a president has, or would, replace is a different matter. I have no trouble believing that is the difference between about 50 and under 15.
Thank you. I want to get a sense of just how much a new admin shakes things up (answered down thread).
The new Administrator does replace Center directors – I am not sure why but they normally do. Exceptions may have occured in the past.
Not necessarily the case. Administrators can definitely name Center Directors, but instances where a Director was replaced at the start of a new Administration have been rare.
Bolden did not remove or replace a single Center Director. The only AA he changed was Joyce Winterton, who he transferred to Wallops. She is still working there today.
Incorrect. Bolden changed leadership at GRC twice. He tried to fire center director at ARC, changed MSFC director and moved him to HQ, moved LaRC director to HQ and put a new person in her place. Also replaced his first AA for public affairs. And there’s more.
Quite right Keith. I didn’t mean to imply Bolden didn’t eventually make leadership changes at the Centers during his term. Just that he didn’t do so immediately and the actions weren’t related to political considerations of the Obama Administration.
When the Senate installs their choice of Administrator for NASA it goes with what the senate wants…
I asked around a couple months before the election, when Thomas Zurbuchen was appointed associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. That’s apparently not a position which would come and go with presidential administrations. On the other hand, there was a SMD “town hall” at the AGU conference in December. Zurbuchen said he didn’t expect a new Chief Scientist (Ellen Stofan announced she is stepping down) until after the new NASA Administrator was in place. I don’t think Chief Scientist isn’t a presidential appointment, but it’s high enough that the new Administrator would want a say in the matter.
NASA has four positions that the President can appoint and require Senate confirmation: Administrator, Deputy Administrator, Chief Financial Officer, and Inspector General. The White House can also name Political Appointees to serve at NASA. There is no set number for how many positions this will entail, though they tend to fill policy and communication functions. All other senior management positions at Headquarters and the Centers are held by civil servants. While elections don’t normally impact such senior management positions, members of the Senior Executive Service (SES), which most senior managers are, can be reassigned at the pleasure of the Administrator. I don’t recall Charlie Bolden doing any reassignments, but previous Administrators have done so to get rid of people they disagreed with. Given that it has proven to be very hard to predict what the incoming administration plans for NASA, it’s any one’s guess what will happen to management across the board. A “Beachhead Team” is a new technique and it will be interesting to see if anyone from either this team or the “Landing Team” will be eligible for a political appointee position. I have heard Landing Team members will not be allowed to become Political Appointees, but I’ve been unable to confirm if this is true.
There is nothing more permanent than a temporary government building…or appointment.
I was very surprised when I visited the University of California a decade or so after I graduated. The temporary buildings beside the math building had actually been replace. Those were added for “temporary” space during the second world war, and still in use as late as 1990.
Same thing at Purdue University. I believe that the new(er) Neil Armstrong building there replaced some of those “temporary” buildings.
Was beachhead Shanks term? Away team at least has a peaceful Trek flare to it. Landing team and boarding team being as bad as the beachhead term, aggressive sounding.
It’s a term of the Trump Transition. It’s true of all agencies.
From a Politico story in December:
“Still, it is the D.C. transition staff that will build the bridge between the Obama and Trump administrations. It is assembling the all-important “beachhead” teams that will enter federal agencies on Jan. 20 and run things for several months if need be while Trump’s nominees are awaiting Senate confirmation. The teams will consist of appointees who don’t require confirmation, like chiefs of staff, who will work with existing career employees to ensure a seamless transition, two people familiar with Trump’s transition told POLITICO.”
If they’re an away team I certainly hope none of them are wearing red shirts.
“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”
Horace Mann
The team has the opportunity to work with the data and facts on Exploration and climate rather than the unethical false news and testimony, while at the same time create a better future for *all*.
Fact: SLS is >60B more expensive than alternatives
Fact: *No* one can claim the earth’s is not warming, *rapidly*
Fact: Asteroids have significantly more resources than lunar
Fact: Shifting excess expendable LV capacity to payloads reduces commercial $/kg with the best potential to create new markets
Fact: Lunar does not prepare NASA for Mars nor long duration travel
Fact: Climate denying scientists are the ones who manipulated data!
Fact: SLS missed its Dec 31, 2016 operational deadline.
Choose wisely for its now *your* legacy.
Sandy Beach?