On September 1, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Bridenstine to be the Administrator of NASA; he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 19, 2018, by a party-line vote of 50–49.

He flew the E-2C Hawkeye aircraft as part of a carrier air wing with the U.S. Navy and in Central and South America in support of the War on Drugs with the Naval Reserve.

[12] In 2007, after the end of his active duty in the Navy, Bridenstine moved to Orlando, Florida, where he worked at Wyle Laboratories, a defense consulting firm.

In the November 2012 general election, Bridenstine defeated Democratic nominee John Olson 63%–32%, winning all five counties in the district.

His top campaign contributors were Northrop Grumman, Latshaw Drilling, American Optometric Association, Citizens United and the Every Republican is Crucial Political Action Committee.

[23] He received $29,000 from donors associated with the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians and the Assembly of the Friends of Azerbaijan (AFAZ), per an analysis of OpenSecrets.

[38] On September 1, 2017, the White House announced that Bridenstine was President Donald Trump's preferred pick to head NASA.

[39] Critics drew attention to Bridenstine's lack of formal qualifications in science or engineering, unlike previous appointees to that post.

[40][41] Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio said that Bridenstine's political history could prove controversial and delay the confirmation process, saying "I just think it could be devastating for the space program", while Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, also of Florida and a former Payload Specialist for NASA who flew on STS-61-C, said "The head of NASA ought to be a space professional, not a politician.

[43] Bridenstine has criticized NASA spending on climate science and has supported increased privatization of U.S. civil and military space activities.

[46] Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said he was "very impressed with [Bridenstine's] deep knowledge of space technology issues and his record of strong leadership in promoting positive change.

[48] According to Science Magazine, "many expect that Bridenstine, who has written about the commercial potential of exploiting lunar resources, could shift the agency's emphasis [from its long-term mission of sending humans to Mars] toward the moon.

[45] Bridenstine was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence at the NASA Headquarters building in Washington, D.C. on April 23, 2018.

The idea was scrapped due to the logistical issue of docking an Orion and a European Service Module and the aerodynamics of using a Falcon Heavy.

"[57] Bridenstine played a leading role in implementing President Trump's Space Policy Directive One and developed the planned architecture for a return to the Moon.

[2][58] After two and a half years in the role, Bridenstine stepped down as the head of NASA, with one commentator noting that he "largely succeeded in pushing the agency forward and will leave it better than he found it.

[60] On April 1, 2021, Bridenstine joined the board of directors of satellite operator Viasat in his second private sector role since stepping down as NASA's administrator.

Dylan Taylor, chairman and CEO of Voyager, said Bridenstine's expertise would help guide the company's "aggressive and ambitious growth plan.

PolitiFact says of this claim that "Bridenstine does have a point that climate change research exceeds weather forecasting expenditures, but he’s overstated the discrepancy," and they rate the assertion as "mostly false".

[70] In that role, he pushed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration "... to integrate commercial data into its weather forecasting models.

[71] In 2017, Bridenstine supported James Langevin's legislation requiring the Defense Department to report on the effects of climate change on military installations and strategic battle plans.