United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was nominating Jared Isaacman, a private astronaut and ally of billionaire Elon Musk, to the position of NASA administrator.
Isaacman had been ruled out to lead NASA earlier this year amid a high-profile fallout between Trump and Musk. Sean Duffy, head of the US Department of Transportation, has been named acting head of NASA.
“Tonight, I am pleased to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot and astronaut, as NASA Administrator,” Trump announced on social media. The role requires confirmation by the Senate, where Trump’s Republican Party holds a majority.
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Last year, Trump, as president-elect, chose Isaacman to lead NASA on the recommendation of Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX, who had been an influential adviser to the president and sought to more closely align the US space program with his goal of flying missions to Mars.
A billionaire who commanded the first civilian space crew in 2021 aboard a SpaceX capsule, Isaacman spent months navigating the Senate confirmation process, balancing the Trump administration’s desire to focus on Mars with NASA’s multibillion-dollar strategy to return to the Moon first in a geopolitical race with China.
“Jared’s passion for space, his experience as an astronaut, and his dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new space economy make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new era,” Trump wrote in his post.
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Isaacman founded the company Shift4 Payments when he was a teenager.
