Climate change activists and experts fear that the United States may lose its momentum on cutting climate-change-causing greenhouse gases once Republicans take control of the House of Representatives in January.
In Congress, the New Mexico Democrat is about to run the gauntlet of a confirmation process in a Republican-led Senate that has only just begun to publicly acknowledge the reality of President Trump's defeat.
If Bridenstine's position on climate change has shifted toward the scientific mainstream, he may find himself staking out a lonely position among his former Republican colleagues in Congress.
