New date set for Senate hearing on renominated NASA head Isaacman

Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel on Nov 19, 2025

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Billionaire and two-time space traveler Jared Isaacman has a new date set to appear before a Senate committee now that he’s been renominated by President Donald Trump to become the next NASA administrator.

Isaacman had already been set for a full Senate vote with bipartisan support back in May to succeed the role last held by former Florida U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who left at the end of Biden administration. Trump, who at the time was in a spat with Isaacman ally Elon Musk, pulled his nomination.

Isaacman made his fortune with Shift4, a credit card processing company, and also founded Lakeland-based Draken International, which trains fighter pilots. He funded two missions to space, flying on SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft leading the Inspiration4 flight in 2021 and on last year’s Polaris Dawn flight.

Now, though, the renominated entrepreneur is slated to return to the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Dec. 3 for a new confirmation hearing.

“This is a critical moment for @NASA as it works to deploy the historic funding secured in the One Big Beautiful Bill to beat China back to the moon and bolster U.S. leadership in space,” Committee Chair Sen. Ted Cruz posted to X on Tuesday after meeting with Isaacman. “I know @rookisaacman is committed to having American astronauts return to the lunar surface and to developing the capacity to reach Mars.”

Cruz helped steer $10 billion in Trump’s bill to support NASA programs, including the Artemis mission, outside of the normal budget process. Trump’s proposed NASA budget guts several programs and slashes annual funding from about $25 billion enacted in 2024 to $16.8 billion, including killing off the use of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft after Artemis III.

Isaacman was questioned at length about that budget’s constraints during his first committee hearing back on April 9, after which his nomination was advanced in a 19-9 vote.

He said he would support the current Artemis plans, which would use the pricey and delayed SLS rocket for the Artemis II flight around the moon, slated to fly as soon as February. That would be followed by a landing mission on Artemis III, now looking like it might slip to at least 2028.

Launches beyond Artemis III, though, could be up for reconsideration, with Isaacman pushing for NASA to use less expensive commercial options such as SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets. Both companies already have lunar landers incorporated into Artemis mission plans.

“I am not a typical nominee for this position. I have been relatively apolitical; I am not a scientist and I never worked at NASA. I do not think these are weaknesses. In fact, I believe President Trump found them to be strengths,” he said in a prepared statement at the hearing. “And if confirmed, I will bring all my experience to the greatest adventure in human history — the quest to discover the secrets of the universe.”

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