Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy named interim NASA administrator
July 10 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Monday named Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to also serve as interim NASA administrator.
Janet Petro, a former leader of the Kennedy Space Center, has been the agency's acting administrator since Trump became president on Jan. 20. The administrator reports directly to the president.
"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," the president wrote in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday. "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."
Duffy, a lawyer and broadcaster who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2002 to 2010, has no science background.
"Honored to accept this mission," Duffy posted on X. "Time to take over space. Let's launch."
The president hasn't nominated anyone for the agency after he withdrew billionaire Jared Isaacman's name to lead NASA, citing a "thorough review of prior associations."
The nomination was withdrawn on May 31, before the Senate was expected to vote on the nomination of Isaacman, who has twice traveled to space on private missions.
It was withdrawn on the day SpaceX chief Elon Musk left the White House after leading the Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social on Sunday, said it was "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."
In the message, Trump said he was "saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks."
The proposed 2026 fiscal year budget for NASA is $18.8 billion, which is a 25% reduction on overall funding and the smallest since 1961 when Alan Shepard became the first American in space.
There are 17,000 permanent civil service employees with headquarters in Washington. Major locations are the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Johnson Space Center in Texas, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, the Langley Research Center in Virginia, the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
NASA relies on SpaceX to send its astronauts to the International Space Center.
The agency also primarily uses private contractors and suppliers to build its rockets and related systems.
The Department of Transportation has 57,000 employees, including the Federal Aviation Administration, safety of commercial motor vehicles and truckers, public transportation, railroads and maritime transport and ports.
Several other political appointees are serving in multiple roles, according to NBC News.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio currently serves as the interim national security adviser and national archivist.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is the acting head of the Library of Congress.
Jamieson Greer is the U.S. trade representative, acting director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and acting special counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.
Russell Vought is director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Richard Grenell, a special U.S.envoy, is president the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
And Daniel Driscoll is secretary of the Army and the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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Los Angeles Times
6 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump plays golf in Scotland while protesters take to the streets and decry his visit
EDINBURGH, Scotland — President Trump played golf Saturday at his course on Scotland's coast while protesters around the country took to the streets to decry his visit and accuse United Kingdom leaders of pandering to the unpopular American president. Trump and his son Eric played with the U.S. ambassador to Britain, Warren Stephens, near Turnberry, a historic course that the Trump family's company took over in 2014. Security was tight, and protesters kept at a distance were unseen by the group during Trump's round. He was dressed in black with a white 'USA' cap and was spotted driving a golf cart. The president appeared to play an opening nine holes, stop for lunch, then head out for nine more. By the middle of the afternoon, plainclothes security officials began leaving, suggesting Trump was done for the day. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the cobblestone and tree-lined street in front of the U.S. Consulate about 100 miles away in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital. Speakers told the crowd that Trump was not welcome and criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for striking a recent trade deal to avoid stiff U.S. tariffs on goods imported from the U.K. Protests were planned in other cities as environmental activists, opponents of Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and pro-Ukraine groups loosely formed a 'Stop Trump Coalition.' Anita Bhadani, an organizer, said the protests were 'kind of like a carnival of resistance.' June Osbourne, 52, a photographer and photo historian from Edinburgh, wore a red cloak and white hood, recalling 'The Handmaid's Tale.' Osbourne held up a picture of Trump with 'Resist' stamped over his face. 'I think there are far too many countries that are feeling the pressure of Trump and that they feel that they have to accept him, and we should not accept him here,' Osbourne said. The dual U.S.-British citizen said the Republican president was 'the worst thing that has happened to the world, the U.S., in decades.' Trump's late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, and the president has suggested he feels at home in the country. But the protesters did their best to change that. 'I don't think I could just stand by and not do anything,' said Amy White, 15, of Edinburgh, who attended with her parents. She held a cardboard sign that said, 'We don't negotiate with fascists.' 'So many people here loathe him,' she said. 'We're not divided. We're not divided by religion, or race or political allegiance, we're just here together because we hate him.' Other demonstrators held signs of pictures with Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, as the fervor over files in the late child abuser's case has created a political crisis for the president. In the view of Mark Gorman, 63, of Edinburgh, 'The vast majority of Scots have this sort of feeling about Trump that, even though he has Scottish roots, he's a disgrace.' Gorman, who works in advertising, said he came out 'because I have deep disdain for Donald Trump and everything that he stands for.' A Scottish newspaper, the National, greeted Trump's arrival with a banner headline in its Friday edition that read, 'Convicted U.S. felon to arrive in Scotland.' Saturday's protests were not nearly as large as the throngs that demonstrated across Scotland when Trump played at Turnberry during his first term in 2018. But, as bagpipes played, people chanted, 'Trump out!' and raised dozens of homemade signs with such messages as 'No red carpet for dictators,' 'We don't want you here' and 'Stop Trump. Migrants welcome.' One dog had a sign attached that said 'No treats for tyrants.' Some on the far right took to social media to call for gatherings supporting Trump in places such as Glasgow. Trump also plans to talk trade with Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. But golf is a major focus. The family will also visit another Trump course near Aberdeen in northeastern Scotland, before returning to Washington on Tuesday. The Trumps will cut the ribbon and play a new, second course in that area, which officially opens to the public next month. Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who is also set to meet with Trump during the visit, announced that public money will go to staging the 2025 Nexo Championship, previously known previously as the Scottish Championship, at Trump's first course near Aberdeen next month. 'The Scottish government recognizes the importance and benefits of golf and golf events, including boosting tourism and our economy,' Swinney said. At a protest Saturday in Aberdeen, Scottish Parliament member Maggie Chapman told the crowd of hundreds: 'We stand in solidarity, not only against Trump but against everything he and his politics stand for.' The president has long lobbied for Turnberry to host the British Open, which it has not done since he took over ownership. In a social media post Saturday, Trump quoted the retired golfer Gary Player as saying Turnberry was among the 'Top Five Greatest Golf Courses' he had played in as a professional. The president, in the post, misspelled the city where his golf course is. Weissert writes for the Associated Press.
The Hill
6 minutes ago
- The Hill
David Letterman on ‘gutless' cancellation of Colbert's show: ‘Pure cowardice'
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Chicago Tribune
6 minutes ago
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The House is looking into the Epstein investigation. Here's what could happen next
WASHINGTON — A key House committee is looking into the investigation of the late Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking crimes, working to subpoena President Donald Trump's Department of Justice for files in the case as well as hold a deposition of Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. The Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee acted just before House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent lawmakers home early for a monthlong break from Washington. The committee's moves are evidence of the mounting pressure for disclosure in a case that Trump has unsuccessfully urged his supporters to move past. But they were also just the start of what can be a drawn out process. Here's what could happen next in the House inquiry as lawmakers seek answers in a case that has sparked rampant speculation since Epstein's death in 2019 and more recently caused many in the Trump administration to renege on promises for a complete accounting. Democrats, joined by three Republicans, were able to successfully initiate the subpoena from a subcommittee just as the House was leaving Washington for its August recess. But it was just the start of negotiations over the subpoena. The subcommittee agreed to redact the names and personal information of any victims, but besides that, their demand for information is quite broad, encompassing 'un-redacted Epstein files.' As the parameters of the subpoena are drafted, Democrats are demanding that it be fulfilled within 30 days from when it is served to Attorney General Pam Bondi. They have also proposed a list of document demands, including the prosecutorial decisions surrounding Epstein, documents related to his death, and communication from any president or executive official regarding the matter. Ultimately, Republicans who control the committee will have more power over the scope of the subpoena, but the fact that it was approved with a strong bipartisan vote gives it some heft. The committee chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said he told the speaker that 'Republicans on the Oversight Committee were going to move to be more aggressive in trying to get transparency with the Epstein files. So, we did that, and I think that's what the American people want.' Comer has said that he is hoping that staff from the committee can interview Maxwell under oath on Aug. 11 at or near the federal prison in Florida where she is serving a lengthy sentence for child sex trafficking. In a congressional deposition, the subject typically has an attorney present to help them answer — or not answer — questions while maintaining their civil rights. Subjects also have the ability to decline to answer questions if it could be used against them in a criminal case, though in this instance that might not matter because Maxwell has already been convicted of many of the things she will likely be asked about. Maxwell has the ability to negotiate some of the terms of the deposition, and she already conducted 1 1/2 days of interviews with Justice Department officials this past week. Democrats, however, warn that Maxwell is not to be trusted. 'We should understand that this is a very complex witness and someone that has caused great harm and not a good person to a lot of people,' Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, told reporters this week. Committee Republicans also initiated a motion to subpoena a host of other people, including former President Bill Clinton, former Sen. Hillary Clinton as well as the former attorneys general dating back to Alberto Gonzales, who served under George W. Bush. It's not clear how this sweeping list of proposed subpoenas will actually play out, but Comer has said, 'We're going to move quickly on that.' Trump is no stranger to fighting against congressional investigations and subpoenas. And as with most subpoenas, the Justice Department can negotiate the terms of how it fulfills the subpoena. It can also make legal arguments against handing over certain information. Joshua A. Levy, who teaches on congressional investigations at Georgetown Law School and is a partner at Levy Firestone Muse, said that the results of the subpoena 'depend on whether the administration wants to work through the traditional accommodation process with the House and reach a resolution or if one or both sides becomes entrenched in its position.' If Congress is not satisfied with Bondi's response — or if she were to refuse to hand over any information — there are several ways lawmakers can try to enforce the subpoena. However, that would require a vote to hold Bondi in contempt of Congress. It's practically unheard of for one political party to vote to hold one of its own members in contempt of Congress, but the Epstein saga has also cut across political lines and driven a wedge in the GOP. Ultimately, the bipartisan vote to subpoena the files showed how political pressure is mounting on the Trump administration to disclose the files. Politics, policy and the law are all bound up together in this case, and many in Congress want to see a full accounting of the sex trafficking investigation. 'We can't allow individuals, especially those at the highest level of our government, to protect child sex traffickers,' said Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., a committee member. The Trump administration is already facing the potential for even more political tension. When Congress comes back to Washington in September, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers is working to advance to a full House vote a bill that aims to force the public release of the Epstein files.
