The White House is withdrawing its nomination of Jared Isaacman to serve as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator, according to several reports.
“Three people familiar with the matter” told Semafor that Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA was being withdrawn, days before his confirmation vote in the United States Senate. Liz Huston, a spokesperson for the White House, explained to the outlet that it was “essential that the next leader of NASA” be completely aligned with President Donald 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,” Huston told the outlet. “It’s essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump’s American First agenda and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon.”
The news that the White House will reportedly withdraw Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA comes after he testified at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing in April and “advanced out of committee in a 19-9 vote,” the Hill reported. Isaacman has “worked alongside” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk:
Isaacman worked alongside tech billionaire Elon Musk at SpaceX to fund the company’s first private spacewalk, and he was one of four astronauts aboard the Polaris Dawn flight this fall. He is also the founder and CEO of Shift4, a payment processing company.
In response to the reports that the White House is withdrawing Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA, several people, such as Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and conservative activist Robby Starbuck, highlighted how Isaacman is a “successful businessman” and a “strong choice” to lead NASA.
“Astronaut and successful businessman @RookIsaacman was a strong choice by President Trump to lead NASA,” Sheehy wrote in a post on X. “I was proud to introduce Jared at his hearing and strongly oppose efforts to derail his nomination.”
“The White House just pulled Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA,” Starbuck wrote in a post. “A big mistake to keep the acting Administrator (Janet Petro) in charge of NASA. She’s a true believer in DEI. Keeping her in charge is inexcusable and @rookisaacman was a tremendous pick lead our space agency.”
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