Trump says he's withdrawing the nomination of Musk associate Jared Isaacman to lead NASA
President Donald Trump announced late Saturday that he is withdrawing the nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, an associate of Mr. Trump adviser Elon Musk, to lead NASA, saying he reached the decision after a 'thorough review" of Mr. Isaacman's "prior associations.'
It was unclear what Mr. Trump meant and the White House did not immediately respond to an emailed request for an explanation.
'After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA,' Mr. Trump wrote on his social media site. 'I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space.'
Mr. Trump announced in December during the presidential transition that he had chosen Mr. Isaacman to be the space agency's next administrator. Mr. Isaacman, 42, has been a close collaborator with Mr. Musk ever since buying his first chartered flight on Musk's SpaceX company in 2021.
He is the CEO and founder of Shift4, a credit card processing company. He also bought a series of spaceflights from SpaceX and conducted the first private spacewalk. SpaceX has extensive contracts with NASA.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved Mr. Isaacman's nomination in late April and a vote by the full Senate was expected soon.
Mr. Musk appeared to lament Mr. Trump's decision after the news broke earlier Saturday, posting on the X site that, 'It is rare to find someone so competent and good-hearted.'
SpaceX is owned by Mr. Musk, a Trump campaign contributor and adviser who announced this week that he is leaving the government after several months at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Mr. Trump created the agency to slash the size of government and put Mr. Musk in charge.
Semafor was first to report that the White House had decided to pull Mr. Isaacman's nomination.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
31 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Harvard seeks to unfreeze $2.5 billion funding in court filing, says national security, public health research in peril
Harvard University, which is at the loggerheads with the US President Donald Trump's administration, has asked a federal judge to issue a summary judgement to unfreeze the $2.5 billion funding blocked by the federal government which the varsity said was an illegal decision. The filing by Harvard University in the US District Court in Boston stated that since the university rejected a list of demands by the White House, the Trump administration had issued 957 orders since April 14 to freeze funding for research pertaining to national security threats, cancer and infectious diseases, Reuters reported. President Trump has previously said that he is trying to force change at Harvard and other US colleges, specially the Ivy league, as he views that these educational institutes have been captured by leftist 'woke' thought and become bastions of antisemitism. On the plea by Harvard University for summary judgements, US District Judge Allison Burroughs set arguments for July 21. The university had sued the Trump administration in April after a funding freeze was announced, as the school alleged the funding freeze violated its right to free speech and was arbitrary in nature. In the filing, Harvard's lawyers wrote 'The directive to freeze and terminate every dollar of Harvard's research funds came directly from the White House, which dictated the form that such terminations would take and set arbitrary deadlines for particular terminations.' Harvard University, in the recent filing, detailed that the funds terminated by federal government includes $88 million for pediatric HIV research, $12 million for increasing Defense Department awareness of emerging biological threats and $8 million to better understand dark energy. The university added that a funding cut would destroy the ongoing research in infectious disease, Parkinson's and cancer treatment. Last month, in another setback to Harvard, the Trump administration revoked the university's ability to enroll international students which was blocked by a US judge after the varsity sued the government in a separate lawsuit.
India.com
36 minutes ago
- India.com
Amid Tariff Turbulence, US Prez Trump Likely To Hold Talks With Chinese Counterpart Xi, Says White House
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold talks this week, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Speaking to reporters, Leavitt confirmed that a readout of the call would be provided if the two leaders proceed with the discussion. This development comes after White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett expressed expectations for a conversation between Trump and Xi earlier on Sunday. According to the ANI report, during an appearance on ABC News' "This Week," Hassett mentioned the anticipation of talks between the two leaders, although without specifying a date. Leavitt further clarified, "I can confirm that the two leaders will likely talk this week. And as always, when foreign leaders call, we will provide a readout of those calls." Hassett made the remarks during an appearance on ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday. However, he did not mention the specific date when the two leaders would hold talks. The development comes after Trump accused China of breaching a deal negotiated between officials of the two nations in Geneva last month to roll back high tariffs for 90 days. However, China rejected Trump's allegations on Monday and accused the US of provoking "new economic and trade frictions." On May 30, Trump accused China of violating a recent trade agreement with the US. However, he did not mention China's action that violated its agreement with China. In a post shared on Truth Social, he stated, "Two weeks ago, China was in grave economic danger! The very high Tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to TRADE into the United States marketplace, which is, by far, the number one in the World. We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them. Many factories closed and there was, to put it mildly, 'civil unrest.' I saw what was happening and didn't like it, for them, not for us." "I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn't want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY," he added. Earlier in May, the US announced a trade deal with China in Geneva. US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said that there was substantial progress between the parties. "I'm happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks. First, I want to thank our Swiss host. The Swiss government has been very kind in providing us this wonderful venue, and I think that led to a great deal of productivity we've seen. We will be giving details tomorrow, but I can tell you that the talks were productive," the White House quoted Bessent as saying. "We had the vice premier, two vice ministers, who were integrally involved, Ambassador Jamieson, and myself. And I spoke to President Trump, as did Ambassador Jamieson, last night, and he is fully informed of what is going on. So, there will be a complete briefing tomorrow morning," he added. US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer said that the parties came to a conclusion very quickly. "This was, as the Secretary pointed out, a very constructive two days. It's important to understand how quickly we were able to come to an agreement, which reflects that perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought," he said. Greer hoped that the deal would help the US deal with a trade deficit of USD 1.2 trillion. "That being said, there was a lot of groundwork that went into these two days. Just remember why we're here in the first place -- the United States has a massive USD1.2 trillion trade deficit, so the President declared a national emergency and imposed tariffs, and we're confident that the deal we struck with our Chinese partners will help us to work toward resolving that national emergency," the statement read.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Gold Extends Robust Gains as Trade Worries Spur Flight to Safety
(Bloomberg) -- Gold edged higher following its biggest daily jump in four weeks on a weaker dollar and stronger demand for havens due to trade and geopolitical risks. Bullion was near $3,390 an ounce after surging 2.8% on Monday as relations between Washington and Beijing deteriorated and the Russia-Ukraine war intensified. China accused the US of violating their recent trade deal and vowed to take measures to defend its interests, even as the White House later confirmed that the nation's leaders are likely to speak this week. Meanwhile, the European Union issued a fresh warning of countermeasures if President Donald Trump follows through on his tariff threats. With few signs of negotiation breakthroughs on the horizon, the latest developments have scuppered optimism that the US was progressing toward making a deal with the two biggest American trading partners. The greenback fell to its lowest since 2023, reflecting growing concerns over Trump's policies and their impacts on the economy. All of that is underscoring gold's haven appeal, which has ebbed since it hit a record high above $3,500 an ounce in April. The precious metal is still up more than a quarter so far this year though, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. saying last week it would remain a hedge against inflation in long-term portfolios, along with oil. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $3,389.61 an ounce as of 7:23 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index steadied, following a 0.6% loss on Monday. Silver was flat, after hitting the highest since October. Platinum edged up, and palladium was little changed. Looking ahead, there are a slew of US labor-market indicators due this week — including the May employment report — which will help to steer the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. Lower rates are typically positive for non-interest-bearing bullion. More stories like this are available on
