Jared Isaacman — Entrepreneur, Pilot, Astronaut, Science Advocate

Jared Isaacman will introduce himself as an entrepreneur, pilot, astronaut, and science advocate at his confirmation hearing tomorrow morning. President Trump’s choice to be the next NASA Administrator, Isaacman acknowledges he’s not well known, nor a typical nominee for the job, but has a robust vision for the nation’s future in space.

In remarks prepared for delivery to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee tomorrow, the tech billionaire and close associate of Elon Musk promises that if confirmed he will “reinvigorate a mission-first culture” at the agency.  While praising NASA’s “historic achievements,” he criticizes “most programs” as being over budget and behind schedule, as well as the billions spent since 1989 to return astronauts to the Moon “without the intended results.”

Trump announced his intention to nominate Isaacman to run NASA in December. Isaacman has made two trips to space on Musk’s Crew Dragon capsules, Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn. He brought two SpaceX employees along with him the second time. They were part of the SpaceX team that trained him for the first flight. Musk’s passion to send people to Mars and Trump’s endorsement of that goal is raising questions about whether Isaacman was chosen to pivot NASA’s human space exploration program from the Moon to Mars, and whether NASA’s science, technology and aeronautics programs will pay the price.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) got a commitment from Isaacman yesterday that returning astronauts to the Moon before heading off to Mars remains the plan. Isaacman’s prepared statement is less definitive, saying: “As the President stated we will prioritize sending American astronauts to Mars” and “[a]long the way, we will inevitably have the capabilities to return to the Moon…”

As for the rest of NASA’s portfolio, Isaacman gives a shout-out to science, vowing to “leverage NASA’s talent” to enable academia and industry to make “world-changing discoveries.” He also lists a “thriving space economy in low Earth orbit” as one of his top objectives.

Isaacman doesn’t specifically mention NASA’s aeronautics research programs, but he’s an experienced private fighter pilot who’s flown more than 7,000 hours in jets and ex-military aircraft. After quitting high school at 16 to create the payment processing company Shift4, he later graduated from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He still heads Shift4, but said he’ll step down if confirmed.

All in all, the statement paints a picture of a NASA enthusiast who may lack government experience, but has extensive private sector credentials and is ready to get to work to ensure that the United States will “never come in second place.”

Where he anticipates getting the money and personnel to do all that in today’s DOGE environment, led by Musk, will be interesting to hear.  Concerns about whether his friendship with Musk and business ties to SpaceX create a conflict of interest also are likely to arise. SpaceX is NASA’s second largest contractor. Not only has Isaacman already bought two more spaceflights on SpaceX vehicles — one on Crew Dragon, one on Starship — but the Wall Street Journal reports that Shift4 processes payments for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband Internet satellite system and bought $28 million shares in the company in 2021. The WSJ said Isaacman invested his own money in SpaceX as well.  Some Republicans have cited other concerns about his nomination related to his support for Democratic political candidates and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at his companies.

Trump has been quite successful in getting his nominees through the Senate, however.  The timetable for the Commerce Committee to vote on his nomination and, assuming it’s approved, through the full Senate is impossible to predict.  The Senate is about to recess for a two-week spring break, so it’s not likely to be immediate.

One person who’s eager to see Isaacman confirmed is Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro. During a fireside chat at the Space Symposium today, she said she’s probably the “one most looking forward to” a positive outcome.

A surprise choice to serve as Acting Administrator, she views her job as keeping the agency moving forward until a new Administrator is confirmed.  Once he’s in place and NASA gets budget direction from the White House, decisions on priorities can be made “and it will allow us to move forward even faster with some more specificity.”

If confirmed, Isaacman will be the fourth NASA Administrator who has flown in space, joining Richard Truly, Charlie Bolden, and Bill Nelson.

The hearing is at 10:00 am ET and will be webcast on the committee’s website and broadcast on NASA+.  The committee has a brief meeting in Executive Session before the hearing begins and will also hear from Olivia Trusty, nominee for the Federal Communications Commission.