When President Trump reestablished the National Space Council — JFK was the originator — we had a clear, bold vision: America was going back to the Moon, heading to Mars and seeking to ensure American economic and military dominance in space. By the end of Trump’s term, the U.S. Space Force was up and running, the Artemis manned mission to the moon was on track and our commercial partnerships were flourishing.
Today, as Chair of the National Space Council, Vice President Kamala Harris has destroyed everything the Trump administration built. The Boeing Starliner debacle is but the tip of Kamala’s iceberg.
Because of this debacle, two astronauts who headed out on a short mission to the International Space Station (ISS) won’t return until February 2025. Even then, they will have to hitch a ride on an Elon Musk SpaceX capsule instead of the star-crossed Starliner.
As Space Council head, Kamala must shoulder a good share of the blame. During the Trump administration, Boeing and other commercial partners knew damn well there was a leadership team in place that wouldn’t tolerate these kinds of delays and missteps. With Chairman Kamala, the wheels and rockets have come off — there’s no accountability, no urgency, no plan.
To understand Kamala’s share of the Starliner blame, just take a look under the hood of the National Space Council itself. Under Trump, we had eight major meetings —all public, substantive and with real Q&A. The Space Council wasn’t just going through the motions; we were making policy.
In contrast, Harris has held the bare legal minimum of three meetings. Her last was a hasty, December throw-together where Harris gave a quick canned opening statement and then bailed, perhaps to plot the overthrow of Joe Biden and plan her path to the presidency.
Memo to American voters: This was the second time Kamala Harris bailed on a major responsibility. The first was as border czar. How’s that working out?
Kamala Harris has also wrecked the Space Council’s User Advisory Group (UAG), which is supposed to be another essential part of our space strategy. This UAG is drawn from the space industry, academia and other relevant sectors, and its mission is to bring expertise in everything from satellite technology and space exploration to commercial space activities and national security.
Today, however, under Kamala Harris’ stewardship, the people who should be driving innovation are wasting their time with scripted meetings. Under Trump, these people were our partners in making America the leader in space. Now, they’re just frustrated observers.
NASA is in shambles, too. Artemis, the crown jewel of Trump’s space vision, is now facing endless delays. Instead of landing on the Moon in 2024, we’re looking at 2026 at the earliest — and that’s if you believe the optimistic projections.
Meanwhile, Red China is closing in on turning the moon red by 2030. If Kamala Harris is elected President and Comrade Tim Walz, an unabashed fan of the PRC, becomes the next Chair of the Space Council as Vice President, China will not only beat us to the moon, Walz will cheer China on.
Harris’ involvement with NASA science missions is yet another Kamala Katastrophe. Look at the Mars Sample Return mission. Under Trump, this was a $7 billion project — expensive, yes, but manageable. Now? It’s ballooned to $11 billion, and Congress won’t even fund it. NASA is asking for new industry proposals just to get a handle on things. And what’s Harris doing about it? Absolutely nothing.
And let’s not forget that the International Space Station is now a hotbed of tension, thanks to the weak handling of the Ukraine crisis by Biden-Harris. Here, Russia first announced they were pulling out. Then they backtracked. Now, the uncertainty is killing us.
Meanwhile, our commercial replacements for the ISS are behind schedule, creating a potential “Space Station Gap.” China, on the other hand, is moving full steam ahead, expanding their space station and attracting global partners. And what has Harris done? Nothing to confront China’s reckless behavior in space, from anti-satellite weapons tests to dangerous uncontrolled rocket reentries.
This is what failure looks like folks, and its name written in big bold letters across the sky is Kamala Harris. Harris has issued only one Space Council policy directive and has shown zero engagement in the issues that matter most. Her public statements are cringeworthy—telling Space Force Guardians that “space is exciting,” or worse, appearing in a staged space video with child actors doing her best impression of Mr. Rogers. It’s amateur hour, and it’s costing us.
In contrast, Donald Trump issued six major Space Policy Directives, produced a thriving Space Force and established a clear — and clearly feasible — path to the Moon and Mars. With JD Vance as Trump’s Vice President leading the Space Council, Trump 2.0 will restore NASA’s leadership, hold commercial partners accountable and reassert our dominance in space exploration.
Donald Trump will win the space race. Kamala Harris is doing her best to lose it. It’s that simple.
Peter Navarro served as a top advisor to Donald Trump. His new book The New MAGA Deal offers more on the space race in its final chapter, America Shall Not Sleep By the Light of a Communist Chinese Moon.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.
