ReutersDonald Trump has renominated billionaire investor Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, five months after withdrawing his first nomination.
The 42-year-old entrepreneur, with ties to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, appeared poised to lead the space agency when Trump abruptly withdrew his nomination in late May after what the president called a “thorough review of previous associations.”
While the White House did not specify what the associations were, it comes during Trump's high-profile feud with Musk.
Isaacman, who is worth an estimated $1.9bn (£1.46bn), is a private pilot and has also become first non-professional astronaut to go into space last year during a SpaceX mission he funded.
Why Trump suddenly changed his mind is unclear, and the president made no reference to the past when he wrote on his Truth Social platform that he was “delighted to nominate” Isaacman for the role.
“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 wrote.
The position of NASA administrator will be Isaacman's first position in politics, representing a departure from the last two men appointed to the position.
It requires confirmation by the Senate, where the GOP has a 53-47 majority. Despite The US government has been closed since early OctoberThe Senate can still confirm presidential nominees.
Thanking the president, Isaacman wrote on X that he would be “honored” to serve in the role.
“The support from the space community has been overwhelming.” he wrote in a long postwhich also recognized NASA scientists and innovators.
“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.”
Sean Duffy, the head of the transportation division, has been acting head of NASA since July.
Isaacman's initial withdrawal came just days after Elon Musk leaves Trump administrationafter a tumultuous push to downsize government departments through his Doge initiative, leading to thousands of job cuts.
Concerns have been raised about Isaacman's ties to Musk and his company SpaceX, on which Isaacman has reportedly spent hundreds of millions of dollars. He also donated to Democrats in past elections.
His nomination was met with skepticism, and at his first confirmation hearing in April, members of both parties questioned Isaacman about potential conflicts of interest, budget cuts and his desire to send astronauts to Mars.
They expressed concerns that he would sacrifice a long-planned lunar mission to focus on Mars, but Isaacman said both were possible.
“We don't have to make a binary decision: Moon vs. Mars or Moon should come first vs. Mars,” he later added.
The billionaire high school dropout made his fortune from payment processing company Shift4 Payments, which he founded in 1999 in his parents' basement when he was 16 years old.
Isaacman has a long-standing interest in flying, having first taken flying lessons in 2004 and then set the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the world in a light jet.
