Mike Griffin

Mike Griffin was appointed by President George W. Bush to be the NASA administrator. Griffin oversees and administers the budget for NASA, which includes the manned space program as well as the launch and tracking of probes and satellites.NASA: Administrator Michael Griffin

On January 14, 2008, it was reported that President-elect Barack Obama would be appointing a new Chief of NASA; retired Major-General of the U.S. Air Force, Jonathan Scott Gration. Unlike Griffin, he has no formal space experience, though he did work as a White House fellow under the 1982 NASA Deputy Administrator Hans Mark. Gration, who met Obama in 2005 and traveled to Africa with him in 2006, has been an unofficial national-security adviser to his team and is said to be a man who can lead a large organization such as NASA.FOX News: Reports: Obama Picks Air Force General as NASA Head (January 14, 2009)

In an interview with NPR that aired May 31, 2007, Griffin raised questions about the urgency of fighting Global Warming. He did not deny that climate change is happening, but he doubted if the problem was a long-term issue or how much human actions had contributed to the change.NPR: NASA Chief Questions Urgency of Global Warming (May 31, 2007) He received a great deal of criticism from climate scientists for his statements, and later apologized for the trouble that his remarks caused.Bad Astronomy: Griffin regrets global warming comments, sorta (June 7, 2007)

On December 11, 2008, it was reported that there was friction between Griffin and the Obama transition team. Griffin allegedly had an argument with Lori Garver, the Obama staff member who is working with NASA during the transition.Orlando Sentinel: NASA has become a transition problem for Obama (December 10, 2008) Griffin's wife, Rebecca Griffin, has personally requested via e-mail that her husband keep his job in an Obama administration.Associated Press: NASA chief's wife to Obama: Don't fire my husband (December 31, 2008)