According to Cointelegraph, President-elect Donald Trump has announced the nomination of Jared Isaacman, CEO of Fintech and an experienced pilot, to be the next commissioner of NASA. The appointment is pending congressional approval. If confirmed, Isaacman will succeed Bill Nelson, becoming the 15th person to lead the space agency.
Isaacman is currently the CEO of Shift4, a financial technology company that processes over $260 billion annually and serves over 200,000 customers. He is also known for his ties to Elon Musk and SpaceX, NASA’s commercial partner. In 2021, Isaacman played a key role in the Inspiration4 mission, a private spaceflight using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience vehicle. He returns to space in September 2024 as commander of the Polaris Dawn mission, where he becomes the first private citizen to perform a spacewalk.
Prior to his space adventures, Isaacman was a certified pilot of various civilian and military aircraft and was part of an aerobatic team in the aviation industry. In business, he co-founded and served as CEO of Draken International, an aerospace company and contractor to the U.S. Department of Defense. Trump’s announcement on Truth Social highlighted Isaacman’s accomplishments as a business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, expressing confidence in his ability to further NASA’s mission of discovery and innovation.
Isaacman’s nomination is part of a series of moves by Trump’s transition team as the president-elect prepares to take office in January. In addition to the potential appointment of Isaacman, Trump has also announced plans to replace current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler with former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins, who is known for his pro-crypto stance. Additionally, Trump has reportedly selected University of Maryland finance professor Michael Faulkender as deputy treasury secretary and is considering Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a replacement for Pete Hegseth, who was previously the presumptive nominee for defense secretary.