President Donald Trump on Saturday night pulled the nomination of Jared Isaacman, a close ally of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, days before his likely Senate confirmation as NASA administrator.
"After a thorough review prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA," Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday night. "I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First In Space."
Trump withdrew the nomination after learning that the billionaire founder of payments firm Shift4 had donated to prominent Democrats in recent election cycles, the New York Times reported.
The White House had confirmed earlier Saturday that Trump would pick a new NASA nominee.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee already approved Isaacman's nomination, 19-to-9, with his full Senate confirmation expected this coming week.
Implications For SpaceX, Private Space?
Elon Musk had pushed for Isaacman's nomination. Isaacman has flown to space twice via SpaceX and is big private space advocate. SpaceX has benefited hugely from NASA contracts.
Trump pulling the nomination may have significant implications for SpaceX, as well as Musk's lingering influence over Trump. The two men praised one another on Friday, as Musk left the administration. Trump reportedly told Musk on Friday that he planned to pull the nomination.
Musk reportedly continued to urge Trump to stick with Isaacman.
A different NASA pick could have an impact on other space-related companies, including Rocket Lab, Intuitive Machines, Karman Holdings and AST SpaceMobile.
Rocket Lab stock is on the IBD 50.
Shift4 Stock
The pulled nomination likely means Isaacman remains CEO of Shift4. When Trump nominated Isaacman, Shift4 stock dived 12.4% on Dec. 4. A few weeks later FOUR stock did hit a record high, peaking at 127.50 on Feb. 20. The payments stock then plunged on earnings and Trump tariffs, losing nearly half its value by early April.
On Friday, Shift4 moved back above the 200-day line, starting to building the right side of a consolidation. However, the relative strength line hasn't recovered much.
Shift4 stock rose slightly early Monday. Rocket Lab, Intuitive Machines, Karman, AST Space and Tesla were all slightly lower, though it's not clear if the NASA nomination was much of a factor.
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