President Donald Trump has once again chosen tech billionaire Jared Isaacman to be NASA's next administrator, five months after leaving office. the original nomination he made last year. Isaacman, an Elon Musk ally and commercial astronaut who has been in orbit twice as a civilian aboard SpaceX rockets, has reportedly been withdrawn from consideration compared to previous political donations to Democrats, the day after Musk stepped away from the White House in May.
“I am pleased to appoint Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot and astronaut, as NASA Administrator.” Trump said on Truth Social. “Jared's passion for space, experience as an astronaut, and commitment to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing a new space economy make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new era.”
The president did not acknowledge his former appointment of Isaacman but praised U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for his work as NASA's interim leader since July. Likewise, Isaacman also does not refer to his previous consideration in his X-post thanking Trumpstating that he would “be honored to serve my country under your leadership.”
“The support from the space community has been overwhelming,” Isaacman said. “I’m not sure how I earned the trust of so many people, but I will do everything in my power to live up to those expectations.”
Isaacman made a donation over 1 million dollars to pro-Trump organizations in recent weeks, and Bloomberg reports that he met personally with the President several times to discuss NASA management plans. If Isaacman's latest nomination is confirmed, he will take command of a smaller version of the space agency that lost thousands from employees from July and faces huge budget cuts this threatens to end two planned missions to Mars.
