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The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator under President Donald Trump. The Senate approved Isaacman’s nomination by a 67–30 vote.
Isaacman becomes the space agency’s 15th administrator, Reuters reported. Trump removed Isaacman earlier this year before renominating him for the post.
During a second confirmation hearing two weeks ago, Isaacman told senators that NASA must accelerate its efforts to beat China back to the Moon this decade. Isaacman will lead an agency of about 14,000 employees.
NASA is currently investing billions of dollars into its Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface.
The Moon missions are intended to serve as a stepping stone for eventual crewed missions to Mars.
The White House has cut NASA’s workforce by about 20 percent as part of a government efficiency push led by Elon Musk.
The administration has also proposed cutting NASA’s 2026 budget by roughly 25 percent from its typical $25 billion level.
Those proposed cuts have put dozens of space science programs at risk.
Isaacman has advocated for an increased focus on Mars missions alongside the Artemis program.
He has also called for greater reliance on private companies, including SpaceX, to reduce costs and promote competition.
Of the votes in favor of Isaacman’s confirmation, 51 came from Republicans and 16 from Democrats.
All 30 votes against his confirmation were cast by Democrats.
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, voted to confirm Isaacman.
Cantwell has previously criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce NASA’s science budget.
“During his nomination process, Mr. Isaacman emphasized the importance of developing a pipeline of future scientists, engineers, researchers, and astronauts,” Cantwell said.
Some Democratic senators raised concerns during Isaacman’s December 3 hearing about his close ties to Musk.
SpaceX currently holds about $15 billion in NASA contracts.
Musk supported Isaacman’s nomination after Trump was elected in 2024.
Musk has previously pushed for shifting the U.S. space program toward Mars during his time as a close adviser to Trump.
Lawmakers from both parties have stressed urgency in NASA’s competition with China to return astronauts to the Moon.
China has said it aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030.
NASA is targeting a 2028 Moon landing using the Space Launch System rocket and SpaceX’s Starship as a lunar lander.
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy congratulated Isaacman on X.
Duffy said Isaacman will lead NASA as it works to return to the Moon and compete with China.
Some 2,145 senior-ranking NASA employees are slated to depart as part of a staff reduction effort, raising concerns for White House space policy and threatening to strip the agency of decades of expertise, POLITICO reported in July.
These employees hold GS-13 to GS-15 positions, senior government ranks usually reserved for individuals with specialized skills or managerial roles.
The impact is especially pronounced at the top, with 875 GS-15 employees expected to leave, per documents seen by the outlet.
The 2,145 employees represent the majority of the 2,694 civil staff who have agreed to depart NASA under a series of offers aligned with broader administration efforts to reduce the federal workforce, according to the documents. NASA has provided options such as early retirement, buyouts, and deferred resignations, the outlet said.
Many of those departing are integral to NASA’s core missions, with 1,818 employees working in key areas like science and human spaceflight. The remainder hold mission support positions, including roles in IT, facilities management, and finance.
“You’re losing the managerial and core technical expertise of the agency,” Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, told POLITICO. “What’s the strategy, and what do we hope to achieve here?”
