Former Congressman Lampson Reportedly On Short List To Head NASA

Former Texas Congressman Nick Lampson (D-Stafford) is reportedly on President Obama’s short list to head NASA, according to NASA Watch, a website that tracks happenings at the space agency.

Yesterday afternoon, NASA Watch reported that Lampson had met with White House Chief of Staff Rham Emanuel in recent days. In addition to Lampson, Major General Charles Bolden, a former astronaut is also reported to be under consideration.

You may recall that, in early December, Lampson supporters were circulating e-mails asking Texans to write former Commerce Secretary Designate Bill Richardson to urge that Lampson be appointed Undersecretary of Commerce, Oceans, and Atmosphere. Shortly thereafter, Richardson removed his name from consideration for Commerce Secretary job after a federal probe in New Mexico came to light.

It is a well known fact that Lampson is tight with Emanuel, so their meeting could have been about anything. Even so, Lampson’s name has surfaced for this post before, so we’ll see.