Two NASA astronauts may be stuck in space until early next year, and many are pointing the finger at Vice President and 2024 Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. On June 5, astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams traveled to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. They were supposed to return on June 14, but due to helium leaks and a thruster issue, the Starliner has been stranded, according to ABC News.
The astronauts might have to wait until early 2025 to come back to Earth. Fox News’s Lucas Tomlinson reported that NASA canceled a risky mission that could have returned the astronauts sooner. Instead, the government has turned to the private sector, specifically Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to safely bring Wilmore and Williams back early next year.
Given the dire situation, many are asking who is responsible. The answer: Vice President Harris.
“This is what happens when you put Kamala in charge of the National Space Council,” remarked Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire after news of the astronauts’ stranding broke.
Harris took on the role of National Space Council chair in 2021, according to CNN. The National Space Council is tasked with coordinating the nation’s civil, commercial, and national security space activities to support the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader priorities. Among her initiatives, Harris prioritized introducing diversity standards into the workforce, per CNN, aiming to “put her own personal stamp on the Council.”
Critics like Shapiro argue that Harris did indeed leave her mark, though not in the way she intended.
The New York Post’s editorial board also criticized Harris, suggesting she has a political incentive to keep the astronauts stranded until after Election Day.
“Rotten luck for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams: Not only have a series of poor decisions by NASA and Boeing leadership got them stuck in space, but now they’re being held hostage by Kamala Harris’ political ambitions,” the Post wrote.
The editorial further argued, “The vice president chairs the National Space Council, which is supposed to give NASA its direction—meaning she’s already to blame for this mess, and is best served by just letting the ‘castaways’ rot until after Election Day.”
They concluded, “Even if NASA comes up with some other solution, those astronauts won’t come home before November. Because Harris chairs the National Space Council: The buck stops with her, but she has an election to win.”
