Trump Taps Jared Isaacman, Billionaire and Private Astronaut, to Lead NASA

Who Is Jared Isaacman, President-Elect Trump’s Pick to Lead NASA?

By Lee Billings

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur, aviator and private astronaut, to lead NASA. The selection comes as the $25-billion-per-year space agency faces intense pressures to return U.S. astronauts to the moon as part of its over budget and behind-schedule Artemis program—while also balancing the denouement of the International Space Station and a vast, ambitious portfolio of space science and aeronautical initiatives.

Isaacman’s nomination would need to be confirmed by the Senate next year.

“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era.”

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Lori Garver, who served as NASA’s deputy administrator under the Obama administration and helped spark the ongoing renaissance in U.S. commercial spaceflight, applauds Isaacman’s selection as a “much-needed fresh perspective.”

“[Isaacman] is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about both aviation and space,” she says. “Since he doesn’t have a traditional aerospace industry background, he is likely to pursue a transformative agenda for NASA. Although the community may balk at inevitable disruptions, the opportunities for accelerated progress require change. The status-quo human spaceflight programs with cost overruns and schedule slips have been considered ‘acceptable’ for far too long.”

Isaacman, age 41, is founder and CEO of the payment-processing company Shift4 Payments and founder of the…