Just days before the Senate was set to vote on his future as NASA administrator, the White House has confirmed that the Trump administration is planning to withdraw Jared Isaacman’s nomination.
Isaacman, a commercial astronaut and billionaire, is a longtime friend and business associate of Elon Musk, and Musk had lobbied President Donald Trump directly for his friend’s nomination to the role of NASA chief. Former Deputy Director of the Kennedy Space Center Janet Petro is currently acting as NASA administrator.
Many had raised concerns about Isaacman’s ties to Musk, with Isaacman going so far as to promise during his committee hearing that he would focus on a lunar landing, putting him at odds with Musk’s vision for the future of space exploration, which is focused on Mars.
When asked by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) about his relationship with Musk, Isaacman denied that they were close, claiming that only Trump had interviewed him for the role. However, he later demurred when asked by Markey if Musk had been present at his interview with Trump.
Others, such as Laura Loomer, suggested Isaacman’s nomination could be in jeopardy following Musk’s exit from the Trump administration this week. On Saturday, Loomer tweeted that “deep state operatives” with “ulterior motives” were seeking to derail the nomination in retaliation for his friendship with Musk.
Other Republicans also rushed to Isaacman’s defense, with Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT), a Trump ally who sits on the committee that approved Isaacman’s nomination, tweeting, “Astronaut and successful businessman @RookIsaacman was a strong choice by President Trump to lead NASA. I was proud to introduce Jared at his hearing and strongly oppose efforts to derail his nomination.”
According to The New York Times, Trump had decided to rescind the nomination after learning that Isaacman had previously donated to prominent Democrats, including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and the California Democratic Party, during the past two elections. He also donated $2 million to Trump’s inaugural committee.
At the time of Isaacman’s nomination in December, Trump made a celebratory post to Truth Social, describing him as “ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new era” and congratulating him on the nomination.
Liz Huston, the White House’s assistant press secretary, said of the change in nomination: “The Administrator of NASA will help lead humanity into space and execute President Trump’s bold mission of planting the American flag on the planet Mars. It’s essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump’s America First agenda and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon.”
Isaacman is the CEO of payment processing company Shift4, which he founded when he was 16 years old, in 1999. He also founded Draken International, which provides tactical fighter aircraft and training to NATO forces.
He is also a commercial astronaut who has previously flown to space twice with Musk’s SpaceX.
