Who Is the Ex-NASA Nominee Pushed to Spotlight by Musk-Trump Spat

The president pulled Jared Isaacmanโ€™s nomination after a review of his โ€˜prior associations.โ€™

Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and formerly the nominee for President Donald Trumpโ€™s NASA Administrator, has received scrutiny over his past donations amid growing public tensions between Trump and Elon Musk.

Trump highlighted Isaacmanโ€™s past donationsโ€”which include a $100,000 donation to the Democratic Senate Majority PAC in 2021โ€”as the reason for pulling Isaacmanโ€™s nomination.

In announcing the decision last week, Trump cited a โ€œthorough review of prior associationsโ€ and said that he would nominate an individual who would put โ€œAmerica First in Space.โ€

Isaacman had been suggested for the top space position by Musk, who heads SpaceX, the worldโ€™s most valuable private space company. Isaacman helmed several spaceflight missions operated by SpaceX, including the 2021 Inspiration4 and the 2024 Polaris Dawn, during which he participated in the first private spacewalk.

Isaacman accumulated his wealth through Shift4 Payments, the payment processing company he founded in his parentsโ€™ house at age 16. He is also the founder of Draken International, an aerospace defense contractor.

Trump has highlighted the fact that Musk knew Isaacman โ€œvery well,โ€ but said that Isaacman was a โ€œDemocrat,โ€ and that his nomination was โ€œinappropriate.โ€

โ€œHe happened to be a Democratโ€”like, totally Democrat,โ€ Trump said.

โ€œI say, you know, look, we won. We get certain privileges, and one of the privileges is we donโ€™t have to appoint a Democrat,โ€ Trump told reporters last week.

A senior administration official told The Epoch Times, that Isaacmanโ€™s nomination wasnโ€™t pulled because of Musk and that other administration officials and nominees suggested by Musk arenโ€™t affected.

โ€œJared Isaacman should have never been picked,โ€ said the senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

In a June 4 podcast interview, Isaacman brushed off the donations issue, saying โ€œthat was not a new development.โ€ He instead suggested that somebody within the administration convinced Trump to nix his nomination because he was โ€œa good, visible target.โ€

โ€œI want to be overwhelmingly clear. I donโ€™t fault the President at all. I fully support him,โ€ Isaacman said.

Isaacman did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.

Byย Petr Svab

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