Watchdog group sues for NASA emails with ‘Space Czar’ Harris, Boeing as astronauts linger in orbit

A conservative watchdog group has filed a lawsuit against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) seeking documents regarding the status of two American astronauts who will be staying aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for several more months.

The Oversight Project's executive director told Fox News Digital on Monday that he and his group have made legal requests for emails between NASA's political appointees and the White House, including the office of Vice President Harris, who also serves as chair of the National Space Council.

The complaint, filed by Mike Howell, director of the Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project, also seeks emails sent by Harris to the presidential campaign. Just as Harris was tasked with mitigating the root causes of illegal immigration as so-called border chief, her role as vice president will see her as the chief space policy adviser in that regard.

“It appears to me and other experts that Space Secretary Kamala Harris has put politics above the astronauts,” Howell said, suggesting there may have been a political calculation behind not returning astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams as planned.

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“It is very odd that the mainstream media does not care about this massive scandal. We will continue to investigate and give the American people the answers they deserve.”

The National Space Council (NSpC) was originally organized in a slightly different form under former President George H.W. Bush, but was then dissolved and reconstituted under former President Trump.

President Trump himself announced the first new military branch in decades, the United States Space Force, at the 2018 NSpC conference.

In its complaint, the Oversight Project is calling on NASA to release communications between the agency's chief of staff Bale Dalton III, Deputy Administrator James Freeh and five other senior officials, as well as communications between NASA and officials with the Commercial Crew Program at Boeing, the company that built the Starliner spacecraft that carried Wilmore and Williams to the ISS this summer.

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Vice President Harris will attend a meeting of the National Space Council. (Department of Homeland Security)

A source familiar with the matter pointed to the stated responsibilities of the NSpC chair, outlined by President Trump in the executive order establishing the council in 2021.

The first provision states, “The Chairman shall serve as the principal advisor to the President on national space policy and strategy.”

The NSpC chairman therefore has substantial advisory power over NASA decision-making, the sources said.

At a press conference in August, NASA officials said there had been “some disagreement about the level of risk” between NASA and Boeing after the capsule suffered propulsion problems and an element leak. Ultimately, Starliner returned safely to Earth uncrewed on September 7.

A few weeks ago, Boeing officials It said in a statement They remain confident in Starliner's ability to carry its crew home safely: “We continue to support NASA's request for additional testing, data, analysis and review to confirm the spacecraft's safe undocking and landing capabilities. Our confidence is based on the wealth of this valuable testing by Boeing and NASA.”

“This data also supports an assessment of the root cause of the helium and thruster issues and the flight rationale for the return of Starliner and its crew to Earth,” the statement said.

On X (formerly Twitter), Howell listed the backgrounds of several people who were hired by NASA during Harris' tenure as head of the NSpC, including a veteran of New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office, a Jacksonville Symphony staffer, and a “scientific” major in “political science.”

“Space is a big issue. Kamala Harris is clearly not qualified to run the National Space Council. They are lost in space right now. One of the reasons they are lost in space is because our NASA has once again been turned into a woke DEI, a miserable government agency in name only,” he said.

Howell also shared a copy of a document outlining the “Strategic Objectives” of the “NASA DEIA Strategic Plan.”

“In fact, Vice President Kamala Harris' record as secretary of border affairs is just as bad as her record as secretary of space,” Howell said Monday.

Howell said it's important for the public to know if there has been any political interaction between NASA, the vice presidential team and Boeing because countries like China are watching closely for such “signs.”[s] Of weakness.”

“Harris appears to be signaling she is willing to cede U.S. space superiority in the name of 'protecting democracy,'” he said, suggesting that DEIA priorities could put national security at risk. “How long is enough?”

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Vice President Harris (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But the astronauts managed the long journey with ease.

“I love being in space. It's my happy place,” Williams said.

Wilmore will miss his daughter's final year of high school but, notably, requested an absentee ballot on Friday so he could vote from the track.

Fox News Digital reached out to Harris' government office and her campaign but did not receive a response.

In a response to Fox News Digital regarding the FOIA, a NASA spokesperson said Harris and NSpC staff “received frequent updates regarding Starliner crewed flight testing.”

“The National Space Council works closely with civilian, national security, commercial and international partners to advance the nation's space priorities, but does not make recommendations or decisions regarding the operational safety of spaceflight,” the spokesperson wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report..