Jared Isaacman was sworn in as NASA’s 15th administrator on Dec. 18, 2025. Photo: NASA, John Kraus

The Senate voted to confirm Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator on Wednesday afternoon. Isaacman takes the helm of NASA after an interesting journey to the role in which is initial nomination was pulled back, then he was nominated again. The final vote was 67-30. 

Isaacman is an entrepreneur and the founder of Shift4 and Draken International, and known in commercial space for commanding two private spaceflight missions. 

He was sworn in on Thursday, Dec. 18 as NASA’s 15th administrator.

In a statement, Isaacman laid out his personal commitments to lead NASA in terms of mission, integrity, urgency, and inspiration. He pledged to champion human space exploration, scientific discovery, and a thriving orbital economy, and to “intensely focus the agency on achieving the near-impossible, the very reason NASA was established in the first place.”

“I am deeply honored to be sworn in as NASA administrator,” said Isaacman. “NASA’s mission is as imperative and urgent as ever — to push the boundaries of human exploration, ignite the orbital economy, drive scientific discovery, and innovate for the benefit of all of humanity. I look forward to serving under President Trump’s leadership and restoring a mission-first culture at NASA — focused on achieving ambitious goals, to return American astronauts to the Moon, establish an enduring presence on the lunar surface, and laying the groundwork to deliver on President Trump’s vision of planting the Stars and Stripes on Mars.”

President Trump nominated him to lead NASA in December of last year, then recalled that nomination in June. Isaacman was re-nominated in November. The Senate held a second confirmation hearing earlier this month, in which Isaacman reiterated his support for the Artemis program and competition among commercial companies for government programs, and emphasized his independence from Elon Musk. 

In the hearing, he committed to the priorities of the U.S. returning to the Moon before China, establishing an enduring presence on the Moon, and to not accepting a gap in U.S. capabilities in terms of a human presence in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), or the ability to send American astronauts to the Moon.

Isaacman commanded the first all-civilian space mission, Inspiration4 in 2021, and the Polaris Dawn mission in 2024, during which he performed a spacewalk. Both were on SpaceX Dragon crew capsules. 

“Congratulations to Jared Isaacman on his confirmation as NASA Administrator. It’s been an honor to help drive [the President’s] vision for American leadership in space. I wish Jared success as he begins his tenure and leads NASA as we go back to the Moon in 2028 and beat China,” Acting Administrator Sean Duffy said in a statement. 

The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) commended his approval as well. “As an astronaut and aviator, Mr. Isaacman has expertise in both space and aeronautics, and his business enterprise background provides him with the skills needed to bring a commercial and entrepreneurial focus to NASA. As the commercial satellite industry continues to expand in size and importance, SIA looks forward to working with Mr. Isaacman and his NASA leadership team to help ensure America’s continued leadership in the global commercial space and satellite industries,” commented Tom Stroup, president of the Satellite Industry Association.

Space Foundation CEO Heather Pringle highlighted the value of Isaacman’s commercial space experience.

“Mr. Isaacman brings a unique blend of entrepreneurial spirit, first-hand commercial space experience, and a bold vision for the future of space exploration. His commitment to ensuring the United States at the forefront of this new era of space – particularly with the momentum of the Artemis program – will strengthen NASA’s leadership and ability to inspire the world,” Pringle said in a statement.

This story was updated on Dec. 18 after Isaacman was sworn in