U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Official photo

President Trump named his Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as the interim leader of NASA after the president withdrew his nomination for Jared Isaacman in June in the midst of a feud with Elon Musk. 

Duffy is a former Republican Congressman from Wisconsin. He later hosted a Fox Business show and was on MTV’s “The Real World” in 1997. As Transportation secretary, Duffy is also responsible for overseeing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), that regulates civil aviation and space launch. 

“Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let’s launch,” Duffy said in a post on X, accepting the nomination. 

Duffy will replace Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro who has served as acting NASA administrator since Trump took office. 

Trump has not yet named a new candidate to lead NASA as a permanent administrator. The Trump Administration is seeking major budget cuts for the space agency, that would amount to 24% of its budget and cancel major programs — although there are signs that the Senate may reject some of the cuts. Politico reported July 9 that at least 2,145 senior-ranking NASA employees are set to leave the agency in early retirements, buyouts, and deferred resignations.

Trump previously nominated Isaacman to lead NASA in December, and the Senate even held a confirmation hearing for Isaacman. Senators questioned Isaacman on his relationship with SpaceX founder Elon Musk, as Isaacman has commanded private spaceflight missions on SpaceX Dragon capsules.

But Trump pulled the nomination in June while in a public feud with Musk. On Sunday, Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that Musk had asked that Isaacman run NASA, with Trump calling him a “close friend” of Musk’s. “I thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the space business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life,” Trump said. 

Isaacman released a statement this week saying that he only knows Musk professionally and he does not have direct or indirect equity in SpaceX. 

“I don’t regret anything — it was an honor to even be considered by the President. I loved DC and my brief time in the arena. The real disappointment is the time lost by Senators and staff who invested six months into a confirmation process that was ultimately withdrawn. This leaves NASA without a confirmed leader for what may stretch on for over a year. That is not ideal for the world’s most accomplished space agency,” Isaacman said.