The Trump Administration has withdrawn its nomination of Jared Isaacman, an ally of Elon Musk, for the position of NASA Administrator. This decision came just a day after Musk publicly stepped down from his White House role. The news, initially reported by Semafor, has been confirmed by White House spokesperson Liz Huston.
According to The New York Times, Trump decided to revoke Isaacman’s nomination upon discovering his donations to several prominent Democrats, including Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Isaacman, the billionaire founder and CEO of Shift4, has been a customer of Musk’s SpaceX, participating in flights such as Inspiration4 in 2021 and Polaris Dawn last year, where he completed the first commercial spacewalk.
In related news, the White House released a detailed 2026 NASA budget proposal on Friday, suggesting a nearly 25% reduction in funding, decreasing from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion, with science program funding cut by 47%. The Planetary Society criticized the budget as detrimental to NASA’s vital scientific endeavors, calling it “an extinction-level event” for effective programs and a waste of taxpayer resources.
In a statement to the media, Huston emphasized the importance of selecting a NASA leader who aligns fully with President Trump’s America First agenda, noting that a replacement announcement would be made soon. Although Isaacman was previously poised for approval to succeed former Florida Senator Bill Nelson, he was informed of the nomination withdrawal on Friday and chose not to comment when contacted.
