The White House announced on Saturday that they withdrew Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA, a move that comes just days before he was set to face a confirmation vote in the Senate.
In a statement, White House spokeswoman Liz Huston emphasized that it’s “essential” the next leader of the U.S. space agency is in “complete alignment with President Trump’s America First agenda.”
“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. 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,” Huston said.
President Donald Trump also indicated late on Saturday that the withdrawal came after “a thorough review of prior associations.”
“After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA. I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Isaacman, a billionaire astronaut who has ties to Elon Musk‘s SpaceX, was previously tapped by Trump to lead NASA in December 2024.
In his hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee in April, Isaacman emphasized that he would not allow Musk, through SpaceX, to influence his work as head of the space agency.
“My loyalty is to this nation, the space agency, and their world-changing mission,” he said, adding, “But they’re the contractors; NASA is the customer. They work for us, not the other way around.”
While Isaacman was grilled by Senate Democrats then, he was already facing scrutiny from some Republicans just a month after his nomination.
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Washington Examiner reporting in January shed light on Isaacman’s donation history, which included over $300,000 to Democrats from 2010 to 2014, while only giving under $10,000 in federal donations to Republicans from 2012 to 2016.
Two of Isaacman’s companies also touted diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has fiercely targeted for removal from government agencies.
