Transportation Secretary Duffy Named as Interim NASA Administrator

Tonight President Trump named Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to serve as interim NASA Administrator.  Duffy said he is honored to take on that role: “Time to take over space. Let’s launch.” The appointment comes about 12 hours before the Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up the FY2026 appropriations bill that funds NASA.

Trump made the announcement on Truth Social and Duffy replied on X.

🚀 Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let’s launch. 🇺🇸🛰️ pic.twitter.com/ZBoEgPnwz4

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) July 10, 2025

Trump’s post said Duffy will be a “fantastic leader, even if only for a short period of time.”

NASA has been without a Senate-confirmed Administrator since the end of the Biden Administration at noon on January 20.  Janet Petro, who was Director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, is Acting Administrator right now.  Trump nominated Jared Isaacman to be NASA Administrator, who had been recommended by Elon Musk. Trump withdrew the nomination when his relationship with Musk soured.

Petro and NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes, who headed the Florida arm of Trump’s 2024 campaign, have said recently it could be as many as 9 months before a NASA Administrator is confirmed.

A lawyer, Duffy is a former Congressman from Wisconsin and a former Fox Business show host. His biography states that he got his start in television on the MTV reality show “The Real World” and starred on “Road Rules All Stars” where he met his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, and they are “America’s first and longest-married reality TV couple.”  They’ve been married for 25 years and have nine children.

The Department of Transportation includes the FAA, of which the Office of Commercial Space Transportation is part, but Duffy does not appear to have any other connection to space activities.

Duffy becomes the second member of Trump’s Cabinet to take on multiple roles.  Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also Trump’s National Security Advisor (succeeding Mike Waltz who was fired), Acting Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (which was dramatically downsized by DOGE), and Acting Archivist at the National Archives and Records Administration (replacing Colleen Shogan who was fired).

The Administrator and Deputy Administrator of NASA are political appointees. Duffy is now Acting Administrator. The Deputy position is vacant. Historically those positions may or may not have been filled with individuals with expertise in space.  The top civil servant at the agency is the Associate Administrator, typically someone with extensive NASA experience. The position is currently held by Vanessa Wyche, former Director of Johnson Space Center.

Isaacman, who has maintained an upbeat attitude since his nomination was withdrawn, called Duffy’s appointment “a great move” in response to a post on X by @RapidResponse47.

Short of a new nominee, this was a great move. @NASA needs political leadership from someone the President trusts and has confidence in. Wishing @SecDuffy well in this important endeavor–NASA deserves the best🇺🇸

— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) July 10, 2025

In response to another post on X (@spacesudoer), he expounded on why he thinks it’s good for NASA.

It will take 4+ months for the eventual nominee to get through confirmation. If you love NASA, then trust me–you want the interim administrator to be someone who can text the President. A trusted cabinet member like Sec. Duffy is a good move.

— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) July 10, 2025

Congress is getting ready to act on Trump’s FY2026 budget request for NASA, which would cut the agency by $6 billion, or 24.3 percent, from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion. It would remain at that level through 2030 with no adjustment for inflation.

Duffy’s appointment comes just hours before the Senate Appropriations Committee marks up the bill that includes NASA, Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS). The markup begins at 9:30 am ET. House appropriators are also getting ready to mark up their CJS bill.  It was scheduled for this week, but postponed when the House decided to take the week off.

Led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Congress already added $10 billion for NASA in the reconciliation bill that will be spent over several years primarily for human spaceflight programs. Many in the space science community are hoping appropriators will restore some of the funding for the Science Mission Directorate, which would be cut by 47 percent. Duffy is now the President’s point man in trying to convince Congress to stick to the President’s request.

UPDATE:  Today (July 10), NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens posted this message from Petro on X:

 

 

This article has been updated.