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It was unclear what Trump meant and the White House did not
respond to an emailed request for an explanation.
“After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby
withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA,”
Trump wrote late Saturday on his social media site. “I will soon
announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put
America First in Space.”
In response, Isaacman thanked Trump and the Senate, writing on X
that the past six months were “enlightening and, honestly, a bit
thrilling.”
“It may not always be obvious through the discourse and
turbulence, but there are many competent, dedicated people who
love this country and care deeply about the mission,” he said.
“That was on full display during my hearing, where leaders on
both sides of the aisle made clear they’re willing to fight for
the world’s most accomplished space agency.”
Trump announced in December during the presidential transition
that he had chosen Isaacman to be the space agency's next
administrator. Isaacman, 42, has been a close collaborator with
Musk ever since buying his first chartered flight on Musk's
SpaceX company in 2021.
He is the CEO and founder of Shift4, a credit card processing
company. He also bought a series of spaceflights from SpaceX and
conducted the first private spacewalk. SpaceX has extensive
contracts with NASA.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
approved Isaacman's nomination in late April and a vote by the
full Senate was expected soon.
Musk appeared to lament Trump's decision after the news broke
earlier Saturday, posting on the X site that, “It is rare to
find someone so competent and good-hearted.”
SpaceX is owned by Musk, a Trump campaign contributor and
adviser who announced this week that he is leaving the
government after several months at the helm of the Department of
Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Trump created the agency to
slash the size of government and put Musk in charge.
Semafor was first to report that the White House had decided to
pull Isaacman's nomination.
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