President Trump Reestablishes National Space Council

WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump on Friday signed an executive order relaunching the National Space Council, which was first established under President George H.W. Bush in 1989. Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, David Wolf and Benjamin Alvin Drew attended the signing.

Trump said the order would spur "a whole new chapter for our great country."

He continued: "We're going to lead again. It's been a long time, over 25 years and we're opening up and we're going to lead again like we never led before." (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Trump said he has known Aldrin for a long time, and he gave the astronaut the pen he used to sign the order. "Today we are taking a crucial step to secure America's future in space," he said.

"You know it's the greatest privilege of my life to serve as vice president for a president who gets up every day to keep the promises he made to the American people," Vice President Pence said. "Today President Donald Trump will take one step to make sure America leads again in the final frontier."

Trump promised to "unlock the mysteries of space" during his inauguration address. He also previously criticized President Obama for cuts to the NASA budget. However, at one campaign event, when a boy asked his opinion of NASA, Trump seemed to imply that he'd have more important priorities as president.

"You know, in the old days, it was great," Trump said in November 2015, according to the Washington Post. "Right now, we have bigger problems — you understand that? We've got to fix our potholes. You know, we don't exactly have a lot of money."

Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images