In a swift turn of events, the Trump Administration has withdrawn its nomination of Jared Isaacman for the role of NASA Administrator, coinciding with Elon Musk’s departure from his position as a White House employee. The withdrawal, first reported by Semafor through unnamed sources, was later confirmed by White House spokesperson Liz Huston.
According to The New York Times, Trump expressed his intention to withdraw Isaacman’s nomination after discovering financial contributions from Isaacman to Democratic politicians, including Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Isaacman, who is the billionaire CEO of Shift4 Payments, has been a notable supporter of Musk’s SpaceX, having participated in multiple spaceflights, including the Inspiration4 mission in 2021 and the historic Polaris Dawn mission last year that featured the first commercial spacewalk.
On the same day, the White House unveiled a detailed NASA budget proposal for 2026, which suggests a significant reduction in funding from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion, representing a nearly 25 percent cut, with science program funding projected to fall by 47 percent. The Planetary Society criticized this budget justification, branding it “an extinction-level event” for NASA’s science endeavors and expressing concern over the waste of taxpayer investments and hindrance of future explorations, as highlighted by Space.com.
Without Isaacman’s nomination moving forward, an unnamed former senior NASA official described the budget request as indicative of “just a going-out-of-business mode,” as reported by Ars Technica.
In an email sent to various media outlets, including NBC, Huston emphasized the importance of having a NASA leader who aligns with President Trump’s America First agenda, stating that a replacement would be announced by Trump himself shortly. Despite there being uncertainties regarding Musk’s involvement during Isaacman’s job interview process, the nomination appeared to be positioned for a vote to succeed former Florida Senator Bill Nelson. Isaacman was notified of the decision on Friday and opted not to comment when contacted.
