Musk’s colleague will not be the boss of herself

The White House confirmed that the billionaire Jared Isaacman He is no longer a candidate to run the US Space Agency NASA. Chairman Donald Trump reported that he would soon publish a new candidate. « After a thorough review of the previous links, I withdraw the nomination of Jared Isaacman for NASA, » the US president posted online. « I will soon publish a new nominee who will be in line with our mission and put America first in space. »

A White House spokeswoman Liz Huston In a press release, she also wrote that the administrator will help us lead humanity into space and will make Trump’s bold idea that the US flag would flag on Mars. « The key is that the next leader will follow Trump’s idea, which puts the US first, » she added. Officially, the 42-year-old billionaire is no longer suitable for running a space agency, but they did not explain to the White House, but it follows from the statements that Isaacman is not fully aligned with Trump’s ideas about running ourselves. Obviously not enough « magic ».

This is a major turnaround, as Isaacman has been considered a new boss since December, before the inauguration. He had a good hearing in the Senate and was expected to be confirmed in Congress next week. But Isaacman, who had high support for the space industry, is a close friend and ally Elona Muskwho has also left Trump’s administration in recent days. Musk, the founder of SpaceX, an important player in various NASA programs, was headed by the Office for Government Efficiency, which greatly shaken the entire country’s functioning, while allegedly upset by some of the tight trumps of assistants. Among the legislators, the appointment of Isaacman was concerned about the conflict of interest, since the billionaire is closely linked to Musk and SpaceX. In the past, Isaacman has worked with this company on two private expeditions into space. Trump also probably bothered that he donated Democrats in the previous elections.

He also tried to balance the tasks before Nasa at the hearing. While Trump seems to be fully fully and merely to conquer Mars, Isaacman said they would not abolish the artemis program to conquer the moon, and also resisted some cuts in the budget for scientific programs.

There are no easy times before Nasa, as Trump’s administration has greatly impaired her budget. Nasa will receive just under € 18 billion or 24 percent less than a budget for this year, amounting to just under € 24 billion for next year. In the draft budget for 2026, Trump proposes to abolish numerous space scientific programs and dismissal of thousands of employees, a controversial renovation described by space advocates and legislators as devastating for the agency.

Isaacman said he was « incredibly grateful » to Trump « and all those who supported me along the way. » He wrote that he began to appreciate the complexity of the country’s leadership much deeper and all the weight worn by the leaders. « This may not have been fully visible, but many competent and dedicated people who care about the country are led by the country, » he added. « The president, Nasa and Americans deserve the best manager who will be willing to reorganize, recover and collect the best and most wealthy brains to provide expeditions that change the world, for which NASA was also created, » he added.

He also responded to Musk, who is disappointed with Trump’s decision: « We rarely find someone so competent and good heart. »

Elon Musk is also disappointed with Trump’s move. Photo: Allison Robbert/AFP

« So Isaacman is not the boss of himself, is bad news for the agency, » published an astronomer of Centa of Astrophysics Harvard-Smithsonian Jonathan McDowell. According to connoisseurs, this change will further destabilize our NASA.

New name

For now, it is not clear who Trump will find as a leader for himself. The media has rounded up the name of a retired US aviation general Steven Kwastawho has strongly encouraged the establishment of the US space forces and is a loud Trump supporter. It seems, however, that it is much less focused on NASA’s civilian space expeditions and sees the universe primarily as a battlefield.