Trump names Transportation Secretary Duffy as interim Nasa administrator

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump tapped Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to serve as the interim administrator of Nasa on July 8, a role that has remained vacant since Mr Trump withdrew his initial nominee.

Mr Duffy will temporarily take over the post that has been in the spotlight due to

Mr Trump’s feud with billionaire Elon Musk

, who wanted his close ally Jared Isaacman to lead the space agency.

“Sean is doing a tremendous job in handling our country’s transportation affairs ... He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important space agency, even if only for a short period of time,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He had named Mr Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut, to be the Nasa administrator in December 2025, before

abruptly withdrawing his nomination in May

, in a decision that angered SpaceX owner Mr Musk.

While the White House did not provide an explanation for pulling Mr Isaacman’s nomination at the time, the US president has since said it was “inappropriate” to have named him Nasa administrator, considering Mr Musk’s business with the space agency.

After Mr Trump’s announcement on July 8, Mr Isaacman called it “a great move” and wished Mr Duffy well.

“Nasa needs political leadership from someone the President trusts and has confidence in,” Mr Isaacman said on X.

Mr Trump’s announcement came as Politico reported that more than 2,100 senior-ranking Nasa employees are set to leave their jobs under a push by the administration to shed staff through early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations.

Under Mr Trump’s administration, the US space industry and Nasa’s workforce of 18,000 have been whipsawed by looming layoffs and proposed budget cuts that would cancel dozens of science programmes. REUTERS