The White House has announced that President Donald Trump has withdrawn his nomination of billionaire Jared Isaacman, a close associate of Elon Musk, to lead NASA.
Last December, before resuming his presidency, Trump expressed his desire for Isaacman, an entrepreneur and the first non-professional astronaut to walk in space, to become NASA’s next administrator.
However, a report from The New York Times on Saturday, citing unnamed sources, indicated that Trump reversed this nomination upon learning that Isaacman had made donations to prominent Democrats.
The White House confirmed the change in nomination when queried about the report.
In an email to a news agency, the White House stated, “It is essential that the next NASA administrator aligns completely with President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda.”
They added, “President Trump will announce a replacement shortly.”
This move appears to disregard billionaire Elon Musk, who resigned on Friday from his role at the Department of Efficiency.
Reports suggest that Musk had directly pressured the president to appoint Isaacman, who has significant business ties with SpaceX, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
Upon the news breaking, Musk emphasized on social media that “it is rare to find someone so capable and kind-hearted.”
Isaacman, the 42-year-old founder of Shift4 Payments, has emerged as a prominent figure in commercial space travel through his significant collaboration with SpaceX.
He made history last September when he exited the Crew Dragon spacecraft and looked down at Earth while holding onto the spacecraft’s exterior, becoming the first civilian and non-professional astronaut to conduct a spacewalk.