Trump renominates Musk ally Jared Isaacman to lead NASA after earlier reversal

President Donald Trump has nominated Elon Musk ally Jared Isaacman to serve as NASA administrator again, after yanking his nomination for the role earlier in 2025. 

Trump originally tapped Isaacman, a commercial astronaut and founder and CEO of payment processing company Shift4 Payments, for the post, but Trump rescinded his nomination in May amid tension between the president and Musk.

‘Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era,’ Trump said in a social media post Tuesday.

Trump originally said when he revoked Isaacman’s nomination for the position that the move came after ‘a thorough review of prior associations.’

Furthermore, Trump said he would select a ‘new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space.’

Isaacman’s ties to Musk include being an investor in SpaceX, and leading two private spaceflight missions with SpaceX, including Inspiration4. The 2021 Inspiration4 mission marked the first time an all-civilian crew orbited Earth.

Isaacman initially discussed his pulled nomination in an episode of the ‘All-In Podcast,’ hosted by four venture capitalists and covers business, technology and society, in an episode that dropped in June. At the time, Isaacman said he received a call from the White House May 30 notifying him his nomination wouldn’t advance because the White House had ‘decided to go in a different direction.’ 

Isaacman said he suspected his ties to Musk were part of the decision, and said the call came the same day Musk’s tenure heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) finished.  

‘I don’t need to play dumb on this,’ Isaacman said in the podcast. ‘I don’t think that the timing was much of a coincidence, that there were other changes going on the same day.’

Trump and Musk sparred earlier in 2025 due to disagreements about the president’s massive tax and spending package, known as the ‘big, beautiful bill,’ which Trump signed into law in July. 

While Musk said at the time he opposed the bill because of reports it would increase the federal deficit, Trump said Musk didn’t back the measure because of provisions included to cut an electric vehicle tax credit that benefits companies like Musk’s Tesla.

However, the two appear to have moved on, and both were seen shaking hands and talking during conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s funeral in September. 

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has been serving as the acting NASA administrator since July.