The Trump administration is pulling the nomination of commercial astronaut and entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to be the next NASA administrator just days before he was scheduled to get a confirmation vote in the Senate, according to Semafor.
Isaacman went through the hearing process with the Senate’s Commerce Committee last month, and the Senate Majority Leader, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, took action to have votes take place on his nomination as the Senate returns next week after the Memorial Day recess. The Commerce Committee voted on April 30 to advance Isaacman’s nomination to the full Senate.
“The Administrator of NASA will help lead humanity into space and execute President Trump’s bold mission of planting the American flag on the planet Mars,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston told Semafor. “It’s essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump’s America First agenda and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon.”
The entrepreneur took to X on Saturday night to say that he’s “incredibly grateful to President Trump … the Senate and all those who supported me throughout this journey.”
“I have not flown my last mission—whatever form that may ultimately take–but I remain incredibly optimistic that humanity’s greatest spacefaring days lie ahead,” he added. “I’ll always be grateful for this opportunity and cheering on our President and NASA as they lead us on the greatest adventure in human history.”
Jared Isaacman was set to receive a confirmation vote in the Senate in the coming days (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Isaacman’s supporters started sharing their concerns earlier on Saturday regarding the notion that the White House could pull the nomination.
Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy responded to an X post by rightwing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, in which she said that “deep state operatives” were trying to “derail” the nomination. She added that Isaacman was “facing retaliation because of his friendship” with billionaire and former head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, who left the Trump administration after a final press conference on Friday.
“Astronaut and successful businessman @RookIsaacman was a strong choice by President Trump to lead NASA. I was proud to introduce Jared at his hearing and strongly oppose efforts to derail his nomination,” Sheehy wrote.
Isaacman is a business partner of Musk’s, and in April, he worked to alleviate worries from some legislators regarding his closeness to the Tesla CEO.
He took a step away from Musk during his confirmation hearing and said he would emphasize a lunar landing if confirmed, a goal that Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has referred to as a “distraction.”
Former NASA administrator Bill Nelson left the post on January 20, and the space agency hasn’t had a Senate-approved administrator since.
This comes as Space.com found that the president’s budget proposal would see funding cuts for the agency as well as reductions in its workforce.
Isaacman, the billionaire CEO of Shift4, a payment processing company, has had a long-standing relationship with Musk, which has been a point of criticism for Senate Democrats. SpaceX is one of NASA’s most significant contractors.
The Wall Street Journal reported in March that Musk had requested that Isaacman lead NASA, something Democrats focused on during his confirmation hearing.
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