Trump Picks Shift4 Boss Jared Isaacman to Lead NASA

US President-elect Donald Trump announced earlier this week that he is nominating Shift4 Payments founder and CEO Jared Isaacman for the position of administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). 

Trump made the announcement in a tweet on Wednesday (Dec. 4), saying that his experience with Shift4, as well as with civilian defense aerospace firm Draken International and his two flights to space, made him the ideal candidate for the leadership role of the United States’s space program. 

I am delighted to nominate Jared Isaacman, an accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and astronaut, as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2024

“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump said. “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.”

In response, Isaacman thanked Trump for the nomination and vowed to make the US win what could be described as the new space race. 

I am honored to receive President Trump’s @realDonaldTrump nomination to serve as the next Administrator of NASA. Having been fortunate to see our amazing planet from space, I am passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in human history.

On my last mission…

— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) December 4, 2024

“I was born after the Moon landings; my children were born after the final space shuttle launch,” he said. “With the support of President Trump, I can promise you this: We will never again lose our ability to journey to the stars and never settle for second place.”

A majority of social media commentary expressed a congratulatory tone towards Isaacman, while some noted the fact that he was Jewish — a sentiment perceived to be reflective of the current conflicts in the Middle East, particularly involving Israel.

A few also speculated that tech billionaire Elon Musk would be shortlisted for the role of NASA administrator. However, his affiliation to a proposed government efficiency board he would co-chair with Republican-affiliated businessman Vivek Ramaswamy dashed such speculations. 

Businessman to Astronaut

Isaacman, 41, has extensive experience in the online payments industry with Shift4 before transitioning into his passion for aviation by founding Draken. This ultimately led him to fund a manned space mission with Musk’s spaceflight firm SpaceX in 2021 which was called “Inspiration4.” He was joined by three other civilians who not only flew to space for fun but also conducted experiments for scientists back on Earth. 

Isaacman’s space venture was then expanded to the three-mission private spaceflight program called “Polaris,” with its first mission, Polaris Dawn, successfully conducted in September this year. He not only commanded the mission, which became the farthest humans have traveled outside NASA’s Apollo program, but also became the first civilian non-professional astronaut to conduct a spacewalk. 

Reuters reported that Isaacman would be a break in a string of NASA administrators who are either politicians or affiliated with the space program in any capacity. He would succeed Biden appointee and former astronaut and senator Bill Nelson if Congress confirms his appointment.

Once confirmed by Congress, Isaacman would be responsible for the development and testing of aviation and space hardware, especially those destined to fly humans back to the Moon through NASA’s Artemis program, named after the Greek god Apollo’s twin sister.

Whether Isaacman’s nomination or confirmation as NASA administrator would directly affect his active role in the remaining Polaris missions remains to be seen.