"President Trump has nominated a former astronaut to head a science agency after more than a year in office — even as his administration has touted the agency as key to helping make the United States a dominant force in exporting fuel and minerals globally.

On Friday, the White House announced it would nominate James F. Reilly II to direct the U.S. Geological Survey, the science arm of the Interior Department that is responsible for overseeing about one-fifth of the nation’s landmass.

During the 13 years Reilly worked as an astronaut for NASA, he flew three spaceflight missions, conducted five spacewalks and logged more than 853 hours in space."

Dino Grandoni reports for the Washington Post January 29, 2018. [2]