Jared Isaacman Sits for Confirmation Hearing
Says NASA Can Do the "Near Impossible"
The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee held a hearing Wednesday to consider the nomination of Entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to be the next NASA Administrator. While Isaacman by his own admission to the committee is not a scientist or particularly political, he has traveled to space ... paying his own way.
"Presidents have called for a return to the Moon and a path to Mars since 1989, and well over $100 billion has been spent without the intended results."
Jared Isaacman
Isaacman is a pilot, having founded Draken International, which provides adversary training to U.S., British and NATO forces. Much of his fortune came from his company, Shift4 Payments, a payment processing company he founded at the age of 16.
Isaacman has flown on two private space missions, commanding both the Inspiration4 mission and the Polaris Dawn mission. On that later flight, he became the first private citizen to conduct an extra-vehicular activity.
Isaacman's nomination became official on January 20, 2025, the day President Trump was inaugurated. In his opening prepared remarks to the committee, he outlined his vision for NASA, while acknowledging the agency has challenges.
"Presidents have called for a return to the Moon and a path to Mars since 1989, and well over $100 billion has been spent without the intended results," he said. "Most programs ... new telescopes, rovers and xplanes, entire space ships ... are over budget and behind schedule. And this is discouraging, because when people look up at the stars and wonder what is out there, they want those answers today, and not decades down the road.
"And I know that it is not lost on the members of this committee that we have geopolitical rivals moving at impressive speeds. It's imperative for our national security, our pride and all that we stand to gain in exploration that we never come in second place," Isaaacman said.
If confirmed, Isaacman said the goals of the agency would be for American astronauts to lead the way in the ultimate high ground of space; to ignite a thriving economy in Low Earth Orbit, and: to be a force-multiplier for science.
Following opening remarks Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the ranking Democrat on the panel, asked Isaacman about his thoughts on firm, fixed-price contracts that are often awarded by NASA to private companies. The nominee said that as an entrepreneur who has benefitted from such contracts, he is generally in favor of them. He then added that in his view, NASA should be focused on doing "the near impossible" things that only such an agency can do.
"And when they figure it out, the commercial industry takes over and brings the rest of the world to follow," he said.
The hearing concluded without a vote on Isaacman's nomination. To become the NASA administrator, the committee must vote to recommend he be confirmed to the full Senate, and then the full Senate must vote to confirm. The nomination has generally received bipartisan support in the Senate.
Thank you for sharing @Tom Patton. Jared is dedicated to restoring mission clarity and bold leadership to NASA, and I have no doubt he will reignite American space exploration. To the moon and beyond!