Trump names Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as interim head of NASA
'Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country's Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again. He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time. Congratulations, and thank you, Sean,' the president wrote in a post on Truth Social Wednesday.
'Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let's launch,' Duffy wrote on X shortly after the president's post.
In late May, the president rescinded his nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, who has close ties to billionaire Elon Musk, to lead NASA, citing a 'thorough review of prior associations.'
The president, discussing Isaacman's nomination in a long social media post railing against Musk over the weekend, said that he thought it would have been 'inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon … run NASA.'
'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,' the president wrote in the post.
Musk and Duffy sparred at a March cabinet meeting, according to a source familiar, when the Transportation secretary accused the tech billionaire of trying to fire air traffic controllers.
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