Trump renominates Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator
President Trump has picked Jared Isaacman—entrepreneur and private astronaut—for NASA's top job again.
Isaacman faces a Senate confirmation hearing in early December 2025.
If confirmed now, he'll become NASA's administrator at a time when the US and China are racing for space dominance.
Why bother?
Isaacman wants to launch what he describes as a new Golden Age of Science and Discovery at NASA. He's all about moving fast, boosting innovation, and making sure the US stays ahead of China in space.
He plans to relocate the retired shuttle Discovery to Houston and strengthen ties with commercial partners like SpaceX.
Still, there are concerns that his close connection with Elon Musk could shift focus away from big projects like Artemis moon missions.
Who is he?
Isaacman is best known as the founder of Shift4 Payments—and for leading two private missions into orbit with SpaceX (Inspiration4 and Polaris).
He's also an accomplished pilot and aviation record-setter, bringing plenty of real-world spaceflight experience to the table.
Who is he replacing?
He'd be stepping in for Bill Nelson, who led NASA through major projects like the Artemis lunar missions during the Biden administration.