Senate confirms Jared Isaacman as NASA chief months after Trump-Musk rift that may have pulled his nomination

By Fox News · Fox News

The Senate confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman on Wednesday 67-30 to serve as NASA administrator, months after President Donald Trump withdrew the same nomination during his public feud with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The confirmation places Isaacman, an investor in SpaceX and leader of two private spaceflight missions, at the helm of the nation’s space agency. Reuters reported that Isaacman becomes NASA’s 15th administrator and is known as an advocate of Mars missions. Trump had previously pulled Isaacman’s nomination in May, citing what he described at the time as "a thorough review of prior associations." Fox News Digital reported at the time that the decision came amid escalating tensions between Trump and Musk, who had recently departed his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and publicly criticized Trump’s "One Big, Beautiful Bill." TRUMP TEASES MUSK AT FORUM AS ONCE-FROSTY DYNAMIC SEEMS TO TAKE A TURN Isaacman later suggested the timing of the withdrawal was no coincidence. Speaking on the "All-In Podcast," he said, "I don’t need to play dumb on this. I don’t think that the timing was much of a coincidence," adding that "there were some people that had some axes to grind, I guess, and I was a good, visible target," Fox News Digital previously reported. The nomination was revisited in the fall as relations between Trump and Musk appeared to thaw. In October, NASA officials confirmed Isaacman was again under consideration after meetings with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy , who was tasked with vetting candidates for the permanent NASA role at Trump’s direction. Trump formally renominated Isaacman in November, praising him in a social media post. "Jared’s passion for Space, and his commitment to American Leadership in Space, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era," Trump wrote. DOGE VS DC: INSIDE TRUMP AND MUSK'S AMBITIOUS SWAMP-DRAINING DREAM THAT ENDED IN A BITTER FEUD Fox News Digital has…