The NASA astronauts who were stranded at the International Space Station were stuck in space for so long because the Biden administration lacked ‘urgency’ in securing their return to Earth, according to the White House press secretary.
Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Suni Williams launched from their Boeing Starliner spacecraft in June 2024 for a mission set to last only eight days. But when the spacecraft encountered technical issues, NASA decided it was unsafe for it to arrive back on Earth with the astronauts on board.
As a result, Wilmore and Williams remained stranded at the International Space Station — until Tuesday when they parachuted down to Earth, off the coast of Florida.
‘These two incredible astronauts were only supposed to be up there for eight days, but because of the Biden administration’s lack of urgency, they ended up spending nine months in space,’ press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday at the White House. ‘Joe Biden’s lack of courage to act boldly and decisively was a big reason why Butch and Suni did not make it back until yesterday. But President Trump doesn’t waste time.’
A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Leavitt said that after taking office in January, Trump directed SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk to hash out a plan to rescue the astronauts with NASA. Wilmore and Williams returned to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
Musk issued his congratulations to the SpaceX team and NASA for successfully pulling off the rescue, and also thanked Trump for prioritizing the mission.
‘Thanks to the excellent work of the SpaceX team working with NASA, the astronauts are now safely home,’ Musk said Tuesday during an exclusive interview on ‘Hannity.’ ‘And so congratulations to the SpaceX NASA teams on excellent work.’
Musk, who is also heading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), previously said in an interview with Hannity in February that he had offered to work with the Biden administration to return the astronauts, but that his offer was rejected for ‘political reasons.’
Wilmore said in an interview in March that he trusted Musk’s assessment of the situation, although he said he did not know the nature of the private discussions.
‘I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says, is absolutely factual… I believe him,’ Wilmore said March 4 during an in-orbit press conference, according to the New York Post.
Still, Wilmore said he wasn’t involved in the discussions, and so he couldn’t personally verify what the conversations entailed.
‘We have no information on that, though, whatsoever,’ Wilmore said. ‘What was offered, what was not offered, who it was offered to, how that process went. That’s information that we simply don’t have.’