NASA Administrator Bolden’s China Trip: Its His Idea, Not President Obama’s

NASA Watch sources report that this upcoming trip to China and then Indonesia is Charlie Bolden’s idea first and foremost. The White House did not ask him to go to either country – nor do they want him to go. But he is going anyway. The trip to Saudi Arabia was similarly unrequested and unsanctioned as far as the White House was concerned.

This begs the question in the White House and elsewhere as to why Bolden is focusing his energy on foreign trips at a time when NASA’s domestic support is sagging. Moreover, there is growing concern within the White House as to why Bolden is not getting the message that the White House has been sending to him. Bolden’s recent gaffs in the Middle East and ethics issues with Marathon Oil haven’t exactly helped his relationship with the White House.