The White House on Nov. 21 nominated David Radzanowski, chief of staff to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, to become the agency’s next chief financial officer. 

Radzanowski, who has been Bolden’s chief of staff since 2010, came to NASA in 2006 after eight years in the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Radzanowski’s nomination must be confirmed by the Senate, which is on recess until Dec. 9. 

Radzanowski would succeed Elizabeth Robinson, who is awaiting Senate confirmation to become undersecretary for the Department of Energy. Robinson’s nomination has been held up by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who demanded an explanation for what he said were delays to the Orion space capsule and Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket programs, major components of which are built in Louisiana.