Isaacman grilled over NASA top job with Duffy stint set to end
Published in News & Features
Jared Isaacman’s recent interview for the top job at NASA turned into a tense examination of the fintech billionaire’s vision for the agency and the role companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX will play in its future, people familiar with the matter said.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who is helming the space agency on a temporary basis, is undertaking a vetting process of multiple candidates at a time of intense debate across government and industry over NASA’s role in the modern space age and how best to fund and execute its missions.
Those concerns were clear when Duffy met Isaacman — a SpaceX astronaut and investor — on Thursday under instructions from President Donald Trump to interview him for the NASA role, said the people, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussion was private.
Isaacman faced questions from Duffy’s staff on his links to the private sector, what plans he had to make cuts at the agency and his lack of government experience.
At the meeting, Duffy repeated that he only intends to lead the agency temporarily and until the end of the year, two of the people said. A third person cautioned that Duffy said he serves at the pleasure of the president, who gets to decide the timing.
Isaacman’s surprise return to Trump’s orbit comes after the White House terminated his initial NASA nomination earlier this year, citing his ties to Democratic lawmakers.
There has been support for Isaacman to lead NASA in the private sector and now in some sections of Washington.
While Isaacman is still in the running, the nomination process is ongoing and the situation could change. The Trump administration has interviewed other potential candidates and the post requires Senate confirmation.
Representatives for Isaacman didn’t respond to requests for comment. The White House didn’t respond for comment.
“Secretary Duffy and Jared Isaacman had an excellent meeting,” NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens said in a message on Friday. “At President Trump’s direction, Secretary Duffy in his capacity as acting NASA Administrator is meeting with and vetting several candidates for the permanent role.”
At his initial confirmation hearing, Isaacman criticized parts of NASA’s record, saying many of its programs — from spaceships to telescopes — are running over budget and years behind schedule. “Well over $100 billion has been spent without the intended results,” Isaacman said.
Isaacman has argued the agency can pursue an effort to start a civilization on Mars — championed by Musk’s SpaceX — and America’s current Artemis moon program in parallel.
Trump has proposed butting $6 billion from NASA’s 2026 budget, the largest single-year cut in the agency’s history, including gutting science initiatives.
Trump recently met with Isaacman to discuss reviving his nomination to lead NASA, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Duffy had already met with Isaacman on several previous occasions and discussed Isaacman’s strategy for the agency, the people said.
Isaacman, who has gone to space twice aboard SpaceX rockets and is executive chairman of Shift4 Payments Inc., has spoken with Trump multiple times in recent weeks about his vision for NASA.
Duffy has interviewed other candidates during the process, including a senior military figure, according to people familiar with the matter.
The talks come as NASA faces funding strains and job cuts while pursuing its moon mission goals.
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(With assistance from Loren Grush and Josh Wingrove.)
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