Shift4 Payments founder and private astronaut Jared Isaacman believes “some people” within the White House “that had some axes to grind” are behind the surprising withdrawal of his nomination to lead NASA.
In April, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation voted 19-9 to send Isaacman’s nomination to the full chamber. His confirmation vote was expected to take place in the coming days. Despite some scrutiny from Democrats and a handful of Republicans — including the committee’s chairman, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — Isaacman had enjoyed broad support from the commercial aerospace industry, which viewed him as a dynamic and capable leader.
The White House and President Donald Trump claim Isaacman was axed after his past political donations to Democrats were uncovered. During a Wednesday appearance on the All In podcast, though, Isaacman noted those donations are public — and suggested his exit was directly tied to that of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who on Friday ended his stint leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“That was not a new development,” Isaacman said of the donations. “You just Google and they’re all public.”
Trump in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, said he was withdrawing Isaacman’s nomination “after a thorough review of prior associations” in favor of someone who “will be mission-aligned, and put America First in space.”
Isaacman has flown on two private spaceflights he purchased from SpaceX, and Musk advocated for his nomination. But the SpaceX boss’ relationship with Trump and other White House officials reportedly fractured leading up to his departure. Musk has since criticized Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” as an “abomination.”
“He recommended somebody from — that he, I guess, knew very well, I’m sure he respected him — but to run NASA,” Trump, referring to Isaacman, said during a White House briefing on Thursday. “And I didn’t think it was appropriate. And he happened to be a Democrat — like, totally Democrat. And I say, you know, look, we won. We get certain privileges, and one of the privileges [is] we don’t have to appoint a Democrat.”
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday said Trump “wants to ensure that all of his nominees are aligned fully with the America First mission of this administration” and will soon name a replacement. That is rumored to be retired Air Force Lieutenant General Steven Kwast, who cofounded and leads on-orbit spacecraft manufacturer SpaceBilt.
Isaacman contended that politics had nothing to do with the move and that he was a “good, visible target” for retribution. The president’s feud with Musk continued Thursday, with the SpaceX chief vowing to decommission the company’s Dragon capsule after Trump suggested terminating its contracts. Dragon is the sole U.S.-built vehicle certified to carry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
“I’m not going to play dumb on this,” Isaacman said. “I don’t think timing was much of a coincidence…There were other changes going on the same day.”
Isaacman said he received a phone call on Friday informing him that Trump “has decided to go in a different direction,” which he described as a “real bummer.” Bloomberg reported that Sergio Gor, head of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, butted heads with Musk and moved to axe Isaacman as soon as he left.
The White House also shared Isaacman’s donation history with the outlet. On Wednesday, Isaacman told his podcast hosts he is politically moderate but leans right-wing.
“I don’t blame an influential adviser coming in and saying, ‘Look, here’s the facts, and I think we should kill this guy,’” he said. “And the President’s got to make a call and move on.”
Isaacman’s ties to Musk and SpaceX were one of the few points of inquiry for lawmakers during his confirmation hearings. But for the most part, his nomination was viewed as a positive, if unorthodox, development.
The Shift4 founder has no government experience, but stakeholders believe his passion for spaceflight is authentic. On Wednesday, he revealed some of the “needle-mover” programs he would have prioritized, including the Artemis lunar program, development of rapid and reusable heavy-lift launch capabilities, nuclear spaceships, and landing on Mars — a key aim for both Trump and Musk.
“The agency is doing a lot of ‘littles,’ a lot of things that other agencies, departments, [and] companies are capable of doing,” Isaacman said. “That’s not why the taxpayers fund NASA. NASA’s funded to do the near impossible that no one else can do.”
Isaacman was viewed by the industry as a possible advocate for programs that would be cut under Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget for NASA, which was widely decried. The White House released the official budget request on Friday, proposing to slash science funding by nearly half and cut NASA’s top-line funding by 24 percent.
The Planetary Society called the proposal an “extinction-level event” for science. While Isaacman has echoed some provisions in the budget — such as the reduction of bureaucracy and outsourcing of Mars Sample Return to a commercial provider — he said the cut to science “does not appear to be an optimal outcome.”
Editor’s note: This story first appeared on FLYING.
