Trump says he’s withdrawing the nomination of Musk affiliate Jared Isaacman to steer NASA

Jared Isaacman, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be administrator of the Nationwide Aeronautics and Area Administration (NASA) testifies throughout a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation affirmation listening to on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 9, 2025.
| Picture Credit score: Reuters

President Donald Trump introduced late Saturday that he’s withdrawing the nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, an affiliate of Mr. Trump adviser Elon Musk, to steer NASA, saying he reached the choice after a “thorough overview” of Mr. Isaacman’s “prior associations.”

It was unclear what Mr. Trump meant and the White Home didn’t instantly reply to an emailed request for a proof.

“After a radical overview of prior associations, I’m hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to go NASA,” Mr. Trump wrote on his social media web site. “I’ll quickly announce a brand new Nominee who can be Mission aligned, and put America First in Area.”

Mr. Trump introduced in December in the course of the presidential transition that he had chosen Mr. Isaacman to be the area company’s subsequent administrator. Mr. Isaacman, 42, has been a detailed collaborator with Mr. Musk ever since shopping for his first chartered flight on Musk’s SpaceX firm in 2021.

He’s the CEO and founding father of Shift4, a bank card processing firm. He additionally purchased a collection of spaceflights from SpaceX and performed the primary personal spacewalk. SpaceX has in depth contracts with NASA.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee permitted Mr. Isaacman’s nomination in late April and a vote by the total Senate was anticipated quickly.

Mr. Musk appeared to lament Mr. Trump’s choice after the information broke earlier Saturday, posting on the X web site that, “It’s uncommon to search out somebody so competent and good-hearted.”

SpaceX is owned by Mr. Musk, a Trump marketing campaign contributor and adviser who introduced this week that he’s leaving the federal government after a number of months on the helm of the Division of Authorities Effectivity, or DOGE. Mr. Trump created the company to slash the dimensions of presidency and put Mr. Musk in cost.

Semafor was first to report that the White Home had determined to drag Mr. Isaacman’s nomination.