Trump nominates Jared Isaacman to lead NASA as administrator. Isaacman is an entrepreneur and commander of two private spaceflight missions. Photo: Polaris Dawn

President Donald Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, tried to calm fears from U.S. senators during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday that he is too close with friend and fellow billionaire Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX.

In his opening statement, Isaacman, himself a billionaire entrepreneur who founded Shift4, Draken International, and United Bank Card, expressed a desire to see NASA send a crewed mission to Mars, which Musk has pushed for as a priority over NASA’s lunar landing mission. However, he later clarified during questioning that he would prioritize a lunar landing over a Mars mission.

NASA currently has no formal plans for a crewed mission to Mars. Musk has recently posted on his social media site, X, that spending time and resources on a lunar mission would simply distract NASA from reaching Mars. Isaacman told the Senate that shifting NASA’s priorities away from the Moon would cede ground to China for generations.

“We will inevitably have the capabilities to return to the Moon and determine the scientific, economic, and national security benefits of maintaining a presence on the lunar surface,” Isaacman said during the hearing.

While the pledge to keep NASA’s focus on the Moon was met with generally approval from the Senate committee, Senator Edward Markey, D-Mass., pressed Isaacman on his personal relationship with Musk. He repeatedly asked Isaacman if Musk was in the room with him when President Trump offered him the NASA Administrator role.

Isaacman did not directly answer the question or deny that Musk was in the room, stating that he was simply attending, “a meeting with President Trump.” Isaacman did state that he has not communicated with Musk since being nominated. Isaacman also would not confirm or deny that the administration was planning future layoffs at NASA.

Despite these tense moments at the hearing, Isaacman is expected to be confirmed with bipartisan votes. He recently received endorsements from former NASA Astronauts and Administrators, including President Trump’s previous administrator Jim Bridenstine. If confirmed, Isaacman would be the fourth of 15 NASA administrators who have been to space.