It was unclear what 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,” 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.”
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.
Musk appeared to lament 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.”
Semafor was first to report that the White House had decided to pull Isaacman’s nomination.
