Trump seeks new profile for NASA and withdraws his nominee Jared Isaacman
Just days before the Senate vote, the White House announced it will withdraw the astronaut's nomination and seek a replacement.
Jared Isaacman
The White House announced Saturday that President Donald Trump will withdraw the nomination of tech entrepreneur and commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator, just days before the Senate votes on his nomination.
"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," an administration spokesman told .
An appointment with prior Senate backing
Isaacman, founder of payment processing company Shift4, had been announced in December as Trump's pick to lead the space agency. In April, he appeared before the Senate as part of the confirmation process and managed to advance with a 19-9 favorable vote in committee. The full Senate was scheduled to vote on his confirmation in the coming days.
However, the White House offered no immediate details on the reasons behind the withdrawal of his nomination.
Tensions over space vision
Isaacman's departure from the confirmation process marks another adjustment in an administration seeking to entrench its control in key areas of the federal government, including space policy. Now, all eyes are on who will be Trump's next nominee to lead NASA.
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