Bolden's Senate approval may be stalled by an Obama executive order that aims to eliminate conflicts of interest. As the Times put it, the new ethics rules prohibit appointees "from doing work that is 'directly and substantially related' to a former employer or former clients." Bolden was on the board of directors for GenCorp Inc. until March 2008, and GenCorp's Aerojet subsidiary is a contractor for the space shuttle and the Orion spacecraft programs, producing propulsion systems and maneuvering engines. Some form of "limited waiver" would probably be required for Bolden to bypass these regulations.