Isaacman, Duffy May Both Want Job

Jared Isaacman, the billionaire entrepreneur who was initially nominated for the role of NASA Administrator by President Donald Trump and then had his nomination withdrawn, met with Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy on October 13, who interviewed him again for the position.

However, reports have emerged that Secretary Duffy is interested in the role himself, although that is not entirely clear. Duffy was appointed Acting Administrator by President Trump in July.

The situation has been characterized as a “power struggle" although both men downplay that aspect. It was reported by one media outlet that advisers and lawmakers representing both had made calls to the Trump administration, including the president himself, to advocate for their person to run the agency.

Pete Meachum, the DOT chief of staff, is reported to have contacted people in industry asking them to call the White House to express concerns about Isaacman. Those concerns involve Isaacman hiring lobbyists and social media influencers to advocate for him getting the role.

Isaacman flatly denied that, saying in a statement: “I don’t have any paid lobbyists or advocates and I have never expressed confidence about a renomination at any point.”

Meachum did not respond to requests for comment.

During the summer, Secretary Duffy mentioned to government officials that he was interested in bringing NASA under the DOT’s purview. Such an interest in bringing NASA into DOT could be seen as a desire to run the agency, but a spokeswoman for NASA said, “Sean said that NASA might benefit from being part of the Cabinet, maybe even within the Department of Transportation, but he’s never said he wants to keep the job himself.”

In a related development, a space enthusiast named Mark Whittington posted on X that a website has been launched that advocates for the renomination of Isaacman, called jaredfornasa.org that outlines all the reasons he should be renominated.

Isaacman is well-known and largely supported within the space community. He is very enthusiastic about space exploration, and has funded and flown on two commercial space fights on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Inspiration4 in 2021 and again on Polaris Dawn in 2024.

FMI:  www.nasa.gov/ , www.jaredfornasa.org/