The president sought the nomination of Jared Isaacman after reviewing his “previous association.”
Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and former candidate for President Donald Trump’s NASA administrator, has been under scrutiny over past donations amid growing public tensions between Trump and Elon Musk.
In announcing last week’s decision, Trump cited a “full review of previous associations” and said he would nominate individuals “in America the first to enter space.”
Isaac Man was proposed in a top space position by Musk, who heads SpaceX, the world’s most valuable private space company. Isaac Man led several SpaceFlight missions run by SpaceX, including Inspiration 4 for 2021 and Polaris Dawn for 2024, and took part in his first private spaceship during that time.
Isaacman accumulated wealth through Shift4 Payments, a payment processing company that he founded at the age of 16 in his parents’ home. He is also the founder of Draken International, an aerospace defense contractor.
Trump stressed the fact that Musk knew Isaacman “very well,” but said Isaacman was a “Democrat” and that his nomination was “inappropriate.”
“He happened to be a Democrat. He’s completely Democrat,” Trump said.
“I know, you know, we’ve won. We have certain privileges. One of the privileges is that we don’t have to appoint Democrats,” Trump told reporters last week.
On June 7th, 2022, the NASA logo of the Webb Auditorium at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC. Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Senior administration officials told the Epoch Times that Isaacman’s nomination was not drawn because of Musk.
“Jarred Isaacman would not have been chosen,” a senior administration official said, speaking on the conditions of anonymity.
“I want to be overwhelmingly clear. It’s not the president’s fault. I’m fully supporting him,” Isaacman said.
Isaacman did not immediately respond to requests for comment up to the Epoch Times.
President Donald Trump will make a speech at the US Steel Corporation, which will be held in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania on May 30, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
Speaking of his nomination interview, he praised Trump for his deep knowledge of the space program and China.
“The president was incredibly knowledgeable. I was impressed,” he said.
After leaving the Trump administration last week as a special employee, Musk criticized Republicans’ one big beautiful bill law. The president called the tax and spending package “hatred” about the potential financial impact on the federal government.
Since then, Trump has threatened to withdraw federal grants and contracts for mask companies, saying, “the easiest way to save money on our budget: billions, billions of dollars.” Musk is the CEO of Spacecraft maker SpaceX and electric car maker Tesla.
