On November 4th, 2025, President Trump once again nominated Jared Isaacman to serve as the Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Earlier this year, Trump had nominated Elon Musk’s close friend for the position, but later withdrew the nomination.
In an announcement made on his social media platform, “Truth Social,” President Trump expressed his excitement in nominating Jared Isaacman, praising him as a distinguished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut. Trump highlighted Isaacman’s passion for space, his astronaut experience, and his contributions to advancing exploration boundaries, uncovering the mysteries of the universe, and promoting the development of a new space economy.
Isaacman, a commercial astronaut and the founder and CEO of the payment processing company, Shift4 Payments, has participated in SpaceX’s private astronaut missions twice as a customer and partner, successfully entering low Earth orbit.
Last year in December, on Musk’s recommendation, Trump nominated Isaacman for the position of NASA Director. However, in late May of this year, amidst tense relations with Musk, he withdrew the nomination citing the need for a “thorough review of their past relationship.”
Subsequently, in July, Trump appointed Sean Duffy, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, as the Acting Director of NASA.
Duffy recently clashed with Musk when in late October he announced a reopening of the contract for the “Artemis III” mission due to SpaceX falling behind on the timeline for America’s plan to return to the moon. This decision allowed other companies to compete with SpaceX. Duffy also mentioned SpaceX’s competitor, Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, during an interview with Fox News.
Following this announcement, Musk criticized Duffy’s decision on social media and questioned his ability to lead NASA.
The position of NASA Director requires confirmation from the U.S. Senate, where the Republican Party, to which Trump belongs, currently holds a 53:47 majority.