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May 08, 2026

Ranking Member Lofgren Appalled by White House Decision to Name Brian Hughes De Facto Head of Kennedy Space Center

(Washington, DC) – Today, Brian Hughes was named as the de facto Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center by the White House. Hughes, who led Trump’s 2024 presidential election campaign in Florida, has deep ties to the White House but no background or expertise in space launch systems. He served as NASA’s Chief of Staff from May to December of 2025. During his tenure, he illegally implemented Trump’s Fiscal Year 2026 Presidential Budget Request before NASA’s budget was approved by Congress. Science Committee Democratic staff detailed his illegal actions in their recently released Minority Staff Report, Mission Aborted: How NASA Illegally Implemented the President’s Budget Request Without Congressional Approval.

"I am deeply concerned that Brian Hughes, a political hack that has a proven record of harming the agency, has been named the de facto Director of Kennedy Space Center at such a critical time of global consequence for NASA and our leadership in space exploration,” said Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). “It is unconscionable that the White House would bring him back and frustrating that NASA did not bother notifying the Committee in advance of this decision.”

Ranking Member Lofgren continued, “We are not going to beat China to the Moon by putting a political operative in charge of launching our astronauts into space. Brian Hughes does not possess the background, knowledge, expertise, or temperament to hold a position of such immense responsibility. The leader of Kennedy Space Center, who also has been granted responsibility for Wallops launch operations, must be beyond reproach in both character and competence. It is no place for a former Trump campaign consultant who personally directed the agency’s illegal implementation of the White House budget last year, as the Committee’s oversight recently detailed. This decision is inexcusable. NASA must reverse it immediately."

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