White House to withdraw Isaacman nomination to lead NASA

Updated 6 a.m. Eastern June 1 with Trump and Isaacman comments.

REYKJAVÍK, Iceland — The White House is withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to be administrator of NASA, throwing an agency already reeling from proposed massive budget cuts into further disarray.

In a statement to SpaceNews May 31, White House spokesperson Liz Huston said that the administration is looking for a new person to lead the agency. The statement came after a report earlier in the day by Semafor that the White House would withdraw the nomination.

“The Administrator of NASA will help lead humanity into space and execute President Trump’s bold mission of planting the American flag on the planet Mars,” Huston stated. “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.”

The statement did not disclose why the White House was seeking a new nominee, and Huston did not immediately respond to questions about the decision. The statement did not disclose whether the decision to withdraw the nomination was made by the White House or by Isaacman, although other sources state the decision was by the administration.

President Trump said in a social media post late May 31 that he was withdrawing the nomination. “After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA. I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space,” he stated.

In his own post a short time later, Isaacman thanked Trump, the Senate and “all those who supported me throughout this journey.” He did not directly address the White House’s decision, saying only that the six months since Trump announced his intent to nominate him “have been enlightening and, honestly, a bit thrilling.”

“The President, NASA and the American people deserve the very best–an Administrator ready to reorganize, rebuild and rally the best and brightest minds to deliver the world-changing headlines NASA was built to create,” Isaacman added.

The decision to pull Isaacman’s nomination comes as a shock to the space industry. Until this news, Isaacman appeared ready to be confirmed within days. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) filed cloture on the nomination May 22, a procedural move that would have set up a vote to confirm Isaacman the week of June 3.

There was no public opposition to the nomination from Republicans, who hold the majority in the Senate, and several Democratic members of the Senate Commerce Committee voted with Republicans to favorably report the nomination to the full Senate April 30.

Isaacman also had strong support from industry, with many organizations lobbying the Senate to first hold a confirmation hearing and then to confirm him. Isaacman had the support of 28 former NASA astronauts who signed a letter in March endorsing him, as well as from former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, who said that he thought Isaacman would be an “amazing” administrator.

One senator expressed dismay at reports that the White House might withdraw Isaacman’s nomination. “Astronaut and successful businessman @RookIsaacman was a strong choice by President Trump to lead NASA. I was proud to introduce Jared at his hearing and strongly oppose efforts to derail his nomination,” Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) posted on social media May 31.

It’s unclear what caused the White House to change course on the nomination. Some sources speculate that it was linked to an eroding relationship between President Trump and Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX who has been a close adviser to the president. The decision came a day after Trump and Musk held a press conference to mark the end of Musk’s formal tenure as a special government employee supporting the Department of Government Efficiency, although the nomination was not mentioned during the public part of the briefing.

Isaacman was widely seen as Musk’s choice to lead the agency. Isaacman had been a customer of SpaceX, leading the Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn private astronaut missions.

The New York Times reported May 31 that President Trump decided to withdraw the nomination after being informed that Isaacman had, in recent years, made donations to Democratic candidates and party offices. While that would explain Trump’s comments about “prior associations,” those donations were publicly known and widely reported since shortly after the nomination was announced.

It also comes a day after NASA released more details about its proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, which seeks to cut the agency’s overall spending by about 25%, with steeper cuts in science, space technology and other areas outside of exploration.

Isaacman, in written responses to questions from members of the Senate Commerce Committee in April, said he was not involved in budget deliberations but said reports that science funding could be cut by nearly 50% “does not appear to be an optimal outcome.” The budget documents released May 30, as well as a top-level “skinny” budget four weeks earlier, confirmed those cuts.

“I have not flown my last mission—whatever form that may ultimately take–but I remain incredibly optimistic that humanity’s greatest spacefaring days lie ahead,” Isaacman wrote in his post. “I’ll always be grateful for this opportunity and cheering on our President and NASA as they lead us on the greatest adventure in human history.”

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