Trump Chooses First Private Astronaut Jared Isaacman as NASA Head

Trump confirmed the nomination on Wednesday in a post on X.

“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump wrote in the post. “Over the past 25 years, as the founder and CEO of Shift4, Jared has demonstrated exceptional leadership, building a trailblazing global financial technology company. He also co-founded and served as CEO of Draken International, a defense aerospace company, for over a decade, supporting the U.S. Department of Defense, and our allies.”

Isaacman, 41, was the first nonprofessional astronaut to perform a private spacewalk in September when he left a SpaceX capsule hundreds of miles above Earth, according to a PBS report on the milestone. The nomination drew praise from X CEO Elon Musk, who made a post congratulating Isaacman.

Isaacman thanked Trump for the nomination in a post on X, saying the second space age was just beginning.

“Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth,” Isaacman said in the post. “It is the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role and to work alongside NASA’s extraordinary team to realize our shared dreams of exploration and discovery.”