Billionaire tech entrepreneur and astronaut Jared Isaacman has been renominated as NASA administrator, months after President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination amid strained relations with Elon Musk.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has served as NASA’s acting director since Isaacman’s nomination was pulled in May, shortly before the Senate’s confirmation vote.
Trump praised Duffy’s interim leadership and said Isaacman’s experience made him “ideally suited to lead NASA,” in a lengthy Truth Social post on Tuesday night.
“Jared’s passion for space, astronaut experience, 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.
Trump first announced Isaacman’s selection in December.
Isaacman, 42, has worked closely with Musk since purchasing SpaceX’s first chartered flight.
He is the CEO and founder of Shift4, a credit card processing company.
He also purchased several SpaceX missions and conducted the first private spacewalk.
SpaceX holds extensive contracts with NASA.
“Thank you, Mr. President @POTUS, for this opportunity,” Isaacman wrote on X.
“It will be an honor to serve my country under your leadership.
“I am also very grateful to @SecDuffy, who skillfully oversees @NASA alongside his many other responsibilities.
“The support from the space-loving community has been overwhelming.
“I am not sure how I earned the trust of so many, but I will do everything I can to live up to those expectations,” Isaacman added.
Isaacman’s renomination follows weeks of uncertainty over NASA’s future leadership.
Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, recently criticized Duffy on X for proposing that NASA be folded into the Transportation Department and that SpaceX contracts be opened to competitors.
The decision to renominate Isaacman came after he reportedly met with Trump and Duffy last month.
“To the innovators building the orbital economy, to the scientists pursuing breakthrough discoveries, and to dreamers across the world eager for a return to the Moon and the grand journey beyond — these are the most exciting times since the dawn of the space age — and I truly believe the future we have all been waiting for will soon become reality,” Isaacman wrote on X.
“And to the best and brightest at NASA, and to all the commercial and international partners, we have an extraordinary responsibility — but the clock is running.
“The journey is never easy, but it is time to inspire the world once again to achieve the near-impossible — to undertake and accomplish big, bold endeavors in space … and when we do, we will make life better here at home and challenge the next generation to go even further,” Isaacman wrote.
Isaacman is a staunch supporter of the commercial space industry, having financed and flown on private missions with SpaceX.
If confirmed, he would need to address concerns over how he would balance his ties to SpaceX with NASA’s work and Musk’s competitors, Bloomberg reported.
He would also take over an agency facing proposed deep cuts to its science programs while racing to return humans to the moon ahead of China.
“NASA will never be a caretaker of history — but will forever make history,” Isaacman wrote on X. “Godspeed, President Donald J. Trump, and Godspeed NASA, as America leads the greatest adventure in human history.”
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