Months after abruptly canceling his nomination, President Trump ended a fierce behind-the-scenes tussle and restored Jared Isaacman as his nominee to run NASA.
Why it matters: The White House sees Isaacman — a self-made billionaire who has twice been to space — as the right visionary and leader to get the delayed Artemis missions to the moon back on track in the space race with China.
- "Jared's passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era," Trump said Tuesday on Truth Social.
The intrigue: Trump also praised Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for leading NASA on an interim basis, but senior White House officials and Isaacman allies came to believe that Duffy's operation was leaking unflattering stories about Isaacman to block his nomination.
- White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in recent days placed a "stern but friendly call to Duffy" with a simple message: "Knock it off," a source said.
- A source close to Duffy denied the secretary was involved in sandbagging Isaacman.
Zoom in: The day before Trump (again) announced Isaacman as the new NASA chief, a confidential document Isaacman shared with Duffy's team about reorganizing NASA appeared in Ars Technica, stoking speculation it was an unauthorized leak.
- One official said the article appeared to be a last-ditch effort to scuttle the nomination with the "old guard in Congress and industry" that want to resist reforms sought by Trump, Isaacman and billionaire SpaceX owner Elon Musk.
During the transition, Musk had advocated for Isaacman to become the next NASA administrator. Trump happily obliged.
- Isaacman was on his way to a full Senate floor vote — and rare bipartisan support — after being favorably reported out of the committee overseeing NASA.
- But in June, Trump had a falling out with Musk, leading the president to abruptly cancel Isaacman's nomination —a rare move stoked by the head of the president's personnel office at the time, Sergio Gor.
Inside the room: Isaacman took the bad news with grace and stayed in touch with the president's team. He even gave $1 million to Trump's fundraising operation months later without bringing up the NASA post, an insider said.
- "Jared was a total class act because he is one," said the insider.
- Wiles and Vice President Vance continued to advocate for Isaacman behind the scenes.
- Trump and Musk made up, and Gor was later moved to a new post as special envoy to India. He was replaced with longtime Trump adviser Dan Scavino, who also admires Isaacman.
Between the lines: As Trump was weighing his options, Duffy gave an interview two weeks ago where he criticized SpaceX, prompting a backlash from Musk, who called the Secretary "Sean Dummy."
- In Trump's orbit, Musk's attack threatened Isaacman's return because insiders feared the president would see Isaacman as Musk's puppet.
The bottom line: "Elon almost f*cked it up," an official said. "But the president moved past that. He knows Jared is the right guy."
