The president pulled Jared Isaacmanโs nomination after a review of his โprior associations.โ
Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and formerly the nominee for President Donald Trumpโs NASA Administrator, has received scrutiny over his past donations amid growing public tensions between Trump and Elon Musk.
Trump highlighted Isaacmanโs past donationsโwhich include a $100,000 donation to the Democratic Senate Majority PAC in 2021โas the reason for pulling Isaacmanโs nomination.
In announcing the decision last week, Trump cited a โthorough review of prior associationsโ and said that he would nominate an individual who would put โAmerica First in Space.โ
Isaacman had been suggested for the top space position by Musk, who heads SpaceX, the worldโs 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 โvery well,โ but said that Isaacman was a โDemocrat,โ and that his nomination was โinappropriate.โ
โHe happened to be a Democratโlike, totally Democrat,โ Trump said.
โI say, you know, look, we won. We get certain privileges, and one of the privileges is we donโt have to appoint a Democrat,โ Trump told reporters last week.
A senior administration official told The Epoch Times, that Isaacmanโs nomination wasnโt pulled because of Musk and that other administration officials and nominees suggested by Musk arenโt affected.
โJared 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 โthat was not a new development.โ He instead suggested that somebody within the administration convinced Trump to nix his nomination because he was โa good, visible target.โ
โI want to be overwhelmingly clear. I donโt 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