US president Donald Trump on Tuesday decided who he wants to lead NASA, despite having ruled out the same person six months ago.

Trump’s pick is Jared Isaacman, the billionaire founder of payment outfit Shift4 who used some of his fortune to [1]buy a ticket on a SpaceX tourism flight, during which he became the first private citizen to conduct a spacewalk.

Isaacman is also a qualified pilot who bought the MiG-29 fighter [2]owed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen , and holds the speed record for the fastest in-atmosphere trip around the planet.

[3]

Trump nominated Isaacman to become NASA administrator, but then reversed that decision in June, perhaps coincidentally a couple of days before Elon Musk ended his time as a member of the administration.

[4]

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“I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space,” Trump wrote at the time. A month later, Trump and Musk were trading barbs on social Media, and the president [6]posted a further explanation of the reason he withdrew Isaacman’s nomination.

“Elon asked that one of his close friends run NASA and, while I thought his friend was very good, I was surprised to learn that he was a blue blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before. Elon probably was, also. I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life.”

[7]

Trump then appointed Sean Duffy as temporary NASA administrator, giving him a side hustle to go with his day job as Secretary of transportation.

The Register encountered Duffy in September when he [8]spoke at the International Aeronautical Congress in Australia, and said the Trump administration believes exploration of the universe and new technologies is NASA’s main job, and that once the agency innovates successfully the private sector should tap its expertise and carry on its work.

His rationale was that other US government agencies focus on science, climate, and other matters that NASA sometimes touches on. Duffy said he expected that within a decade NASA would have helped to establish a permanently-inhabited “village” on the Moon, and “be on the cusp of putting human boots on Mars.”

[9]

On Tuesday, Trump [10]praised Duffy, whom he said “has done an incredible job as Interim Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).”

The president then declared himself “pleased to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of NASA. 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.”

[11]SpaceX shows off progress on its lunar Starship

[12]SpaceX is behind schedule, so NASA will open Artemis III contract to competition

[13]NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Another 550 employees set to leave the building

[14]50 years in deep space, and Voyager still can't escape budget gravity

Trump did not explain what, if anything, made him change his mind.

However, his reference to exploration suggests the administration’s plans for NASA remain unchanged.

Isaacman has previously endorsed the idea of private sector space companies taking on missions of national significance, suggesting that no extra funding is needed for NASA’s startlingly expensive Space Launch System if the three planned launches prove the technology.

He also has ideas of his own for NASA, including annual science missions on the scale of the James Webb Space Telescope. Isaacman said he is happy with cheaper, riskier, science missions, rather than expensive programs that take a decade to execute.

Whatever policy he settles on, Isaacman will have to do more with less as the Trump administration has significantly reduced NASA’s budget. ®

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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/16/inspiration4_launch_success/

[2] https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/06/mig_29ub_auction_paul_allen/

[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aQsuRiQViTQoRAj5W4V29QAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

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[6] https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114808616176041421

[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aQsuRiQViTQoRAj5W4V29QAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/29/nasa_moon_prediction_iac_2025/

[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/publicsector&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aQsuRiQViTQoRAj5W4V29QAAAFc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[10] https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115493839582779089

[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/31/spacex_shows_off_lunar_starship/

[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/21/spacex_is_behind_schedule_so/

[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/14/more_jpl_employees_set_to/

[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/10/nasa_voyagers_budget/

[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/