White House pulls NASA administrator nominee Jared Isaacman, billionaire with Elon Musk ties
WASHINGTON -- The White House withdrew Saturday the nomination of Jared Isaacman to become the next NASA administrator just days before his scheduled confirmation vote in the Senate.
"It's essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump's America First agenda and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon," Liz Huston, a spokesperson for the White House said in a statement.
Isaacman, who is the CEO of the payment processing company Shift4, has had a long history with Musk and worked with SpaceX on commercial flights into space.
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During his confirmation hearing in April with the Senate's Commerce Committee, Isaacman stated he would "prioritize sending American astronauts to Mars."
Isaacman attempted to distance himself from Musk during his confirmation hearing as he was getting grilled by Democrats on the committee.
Musk and Trump have emphasized their desire to prioritize Mars, whereas Isaacman clarified during questioning that a lunar landing would take precedence over a Mars mission.
