Elon Musk Ally Jared Isaacman Appointed As NASA Chief

The vote on Isaacman passed 67-30, two weeks after he told senators in his second hearing that NASA must pick up the pace in beating China back to the moon this decade.

17 Dec 2025, 20:54 · NDTV

The US Senate on Wednesday confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman to become President Donald Trump's NASA administrator, making an advocate of Mars missions and a former associate of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk the space agency's 15th leader.

The vote on Isaacman, who Trump removed and then renamed as NASA administrator nominee this year, passed 67-30, two weeks after he told senators in his second hearing that NASA must pick up the pace in beating China back to the moon this decade.

Acting NASA chief Sean Duffy, who also leads the US Transportation Department, congratulated Isaacman on X, wishing Isaacman "success as he begins his tenure and leads NASA as we go back to the Moon in 2028 and beat China."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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