Donald Trump has reversed his decision: billionaire Jared Isaacman, a close associate of Elon Musk, will not be heading NASA after all, the White House announced on Saturday.
“It is essential for the next NASA leader to fully align with President Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda, and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon,” the White House stated, confirming a report from The New York Times.
According to the newspaper, the Republican president discovered that Mr Isaacman had previously donated to Democratic politicians. Aged 42, Jared Isaacman, who shares a close relationship with Elon Musk, is an entrepreneur who amassed his fortune in online payments. “Finding someone as competent and generous is rare,” Elon Musk wrote on X, in response to news of Mr Isaacman’s dismissal.
In early April, Isaacman attended a Senate committee hearing in Washington where he expressed his priority to send astronauts to Mars, a bold initiative he intended to pursue without neglecting the Moon.
An billionaire with a passion for space, Jared Isaacman has flown multiple times on private space missions conducted by SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company.
In November 2024, he became the first private astronaut to perform a spacewalk, a risky operation previously reserved for professionals.
