NASA nominee denies conflict of interest with Musk

Valerie Yurk, CQ-Roll Call on Dec 3, 2025

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Jared Isaacman, the on-off-on again nominee to lead NASA, on Wednesday denied allegations of a potential conflict of interest because of his friendship with billionaire Elon Musk, adding he doesn’t know why President Donald Trump withdrew his nomination earlier this year only to renominate him last month.

Isaacman made the comments at a second confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which previously had voted to advance his initial nomination to the floor in April. Trump withdrew the nomination in May.

The committee has scheduled a markup on his nomination for Monday.

Isaacman is the founder and chairman of Shift4 Payments, a payment processor. In 2021, he commanded the first all-civilian spaceflight, Inspiration4, and later led SpaceX’s five-day Polaris Dawn mission, during which he became the first private citizen to perform a spacewalk.

He told the panel he has not had any communication with Musk since his withdrawal, rebutting concerns over his connections to Musk and SpaceX.

“In a world where everybody has a phone with a camera on it, there are no pictures of us at dinner, at a bar, on an airplane or yacht because they don’t exist,” Isaacman said. “My relationship with Mr. Musk is the fact that I led two missions to space with SpaceX because it’s the only organization that can send astronauts to and from space since the shuttle was retired.”

Trump withdrew Isaacman’s initial nomination during his feud earlier this year with Musk and after reports that Isaacman had previously donated to Democratic campaigns. In a May post on Truth Social withdrawing the initial nomination, Trump cited a “thorough review” of Isaacman’s “prior associations.”

Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., questioned Isaacman about whether Musk was present during Isaacman’s discussions with Trump about his nomination. Isaacman said there were “dozens of people moving in and out.”

“You’re refusing to tell us whether or not Elon Musk was in the room that day,” Markey said. “That makes me think that Elon Musk actually was in the room that day, that you understand that’s a clear conflict of interest.”

Isaacman said he has no “direct or indirect equity exposure” to any aerospace company, including SpaceX. Under acting administrator Sean Duffy, NASA in October decided to open up bids beyond SpaceX for a U.S. moon landing. SpaceX is said to be facing delays on the mission.

Democrats also questioned Isaacman on the Trump administration’s proposed cut to NASA’s budget, to $18.8 billion from $24.8 billion. The proposal sought to cut the space science account by $2.3 billion and mission support by $1.1 billion.

The request also sought a $647 million boost for space exploration, putting lunar exploration at $7 billion and “Mars-focused” programs at $1 billion.

Isaacman said he shares Trump’s concerns about federal spending and the national debt, adding he would “make most efficient use of every dollar allocated.”

The committee in April voted to advance Isaacman’s nomination with the support of six Democratic senators. If confirmed, he would oversee a push to beat China in returning astronauts to the moon and coordinating missions to send humans to Mars.

“Jared, I know you are as committed as I am to American supremacy in the final frontier,” Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said during the Wednesday hearing. “The United States must remain the unquestioned leader in space exploration, and this imperative is why we must confirm your nomination as expeditiously as possible.”

Cruz said he hopes to confirm Isaacman by the end of the year.

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