 During the announcement, O'Keefe stated that it was his decision alone, and not a recommendation from any other departments.The decision was widely criticized by the media, the science community, and those in NASA.Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, a member of the Senate subcommittee that oversees NASA's budget, publicly accused O'Keefe of making a decision outside the transparency process against the wishes of the science community, and stated she would work to reverse the decision.