WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has decided to retract the nomination of technology magnate Jared Isaacman, an associate of Elon Musk, to head NASA, according to a source acquainted with the decision on Saturday.
The individual, who requested anonymity since they were not authorized to speak publicly about the administration’s personnel decisions, provided the information. Requests for comment were not immediately answered by the White House and NASA.
During the presidential transition last December, Trump revealed his selection of Isaacman to be the forthcoming administrator of the space agency. Isaacman has maintained a significant partnership with Musk since acquiring his initial chartered flight with Musk’s SpaceX in 2021.
He is the CEO and founder of Shift4, a credit card processing company. He also bought a series of spaceflights from SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk. SpaceX has extensive contracts with NASA.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved Isaacman’s nomination in late April and a vote by the full Senate was expected soon.
Musk appeared to lament Trump’s decision in a post Saturday on X that said, “It is rare to find someone so competent and good-hearted.”
SpaceX is owned by Musk, a Trump supporter and adviser who announced this week that he is leaving the government after several months at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Trump created the agency to slash the size of government and put Musk in charge.
Semafor was first to report that the White House had decided to pull Isaacman’s nomination.
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