With Jared Isaacman Out, Is NASA in Deeper Trouble?

In a surprise decision, President Donald Trump withdrew his appointment from Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. The potential role of the private astronaut as an administrator of NASA was considered by the spatial community as a Welcome change to the agency During a critical period, with imminent budget cuts and several of its missions on blocking. With Isaacman, he could report dark times for NASA.

The White House announced the decision on Saturday, declaring that “it is essential that the next NASA chief is entirely aligned with the first program of President Trump America”, spokesperson Liz Huston is cited in Invite space as saying. The appointment of Isaac for the administrator of NASA was approved by a senatorial committee at the end of April and was directed to a confirmation vote this week. Trump’s withdrawal from the appointment of Isaacman intervenes at a moment of uncertainty concerning the position of the administration on the current NASA programs, including his return long expected on the Moon. He also crushes Isaacman’s hope which directs NASA to a better future, which aligns the agency better with the private sector and adds a new perspective to its obsolete methods.

The change of heart of Trump would have been attributed to the gifts that Isaamman had made to the Democrats in the past, the president citing “an in -depth examination of previous associations”, on the social truth as reason behind him withdrawing the appointment, according to The New York Times. Although he is not a frequent political donor, Isaacman made a donation to former senator Bob Casey and the Democratic Party of California, as well as Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former astronaut. Trump’s decision would also have been influenced by the founder of SpaceX and CEO Elon Musk Suppose the start of the government. Musk had pressure for the appointment of Isaacman, the technological entrepreneur and pilot having Flying for space twice on private missions operated by SpaceX. Isaacman was clearly a fan of the private space sector and a close ally of musk.

With Isaacman outside, the next online person for the position will probably be more aligned with the current administration. “I will soon announce a new candidate who will be aligned on the mission and will put America first in space,” wrote Trump on Truth Social. Although there has not yet been an official announcement, two sources have said Ars Technica that the new candidate will probably be the former American lieutenant-general General Steven Kwast. The retired commander is more aimed at using the space for military operations and less likely to promote the scientific missions of NASA, according to ARS Technica. Trump wants to build a golden dome defense system of $ 175 billion, A spatial weapon system designed to be a strata defense shield in the United States

While NASA is waiting for a new candidate, the agency is also faced with monstrous budget cuts that threaten some of its major missions like Mars Sample Return. Earlier in May, the US administration released a lean budgetwhich included the financing of NASA in 2026. The budget proposed a reduction of $ 6 billion to the agency, 24% less than the current budget of $ 24.8 billion in NASA for 2025. The proposed budget highlights the “return to the moon before China and to put a man on Mars”. However, it would eliminate the rocket from the NASA spatial launch system (SLS) and its Orion capsule, replacing them with commercial substitutes from the next Artemis missions of the Agency on the Moon. The proposed budget would also end the agency’s lunar gateway, a space station in the work that would be the first to orbit the moon, and the yield of the March sample of Ax Nasa in order to “put an end to the unaffordable missions”.

In response to budget cuts to NASA before the publication of the lean budget, Isaacman wrote On X, “I am a humble nominated outside, in the hope of a chance of contributing. I know nothing about these supposed cuts, but the president said that he was aiming for fraud, waste and abuse with a scalpel – not an ax of war.”

It is not clear what was his position after the publication of the proposed budget, but Isaacman is well appreciated in the space community and is generally considered as a supporter of space exploration. At the time of his appointment, several experts told Gizmodo that Isaamman could be what the agency needed to reinvent itself during this transition period. Without Isaacman, things seem dark for NASA. “NASA is fucked,” said a leading official in Ars Technica on condition of anonymity.