The White House offered few details on the reasoning for pulling Issacman's nomination for NASA administrator.
“It’s essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump’s America First agenda and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon,” a White House spokesperson told The Hill.
The Senate was slated to vote on his nomination in the coming days. He testified before the upper chamber in April as part of the confirmation process and advanced out of committee in a 19-9 vote.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said the decision was made after a "thorough review of prior associations."
The New York Times reported the decision was reached after Trump was told Isaacman donated to prominent Democrats in the past.
But The Times later reported Trump and his team were briefed about the donations during the presidential transition late last year before his nomination.
Isaacman worked alongside tech billionaire Elon Musk at SpaceX to fund the company’s first private spacewalk, and he was one of four astronauts aboard the Polaris Dawn flight this fall.
He is also the founder and CEO of Shift4, a payment processing company.
Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy (Mont.) quickly expressed his disappointment over the decision.
“Astronaut and successful businessman @RookIsaacman was a strong choice by President Trump to lead NASA. I was proud to introduce Jared at his hearing and strongly oppose efforts to derail his nomination,” Sheehy wrote in an X post on Saturday.
Conservative provocateur Laura Loomer reported over the weekend "deep state operatives" were attempting to prevent Isaacman from serving at the helm of NASA.
“Let me remind you who Jared Isaacman is. Yes, he has been a liberal in the past like @elonmusk, but as it relates to MERIT and his knowledge of Space, his credentials are unmatched,” Loomer said in her Saturday X post.
"There is reason to believe that Isaacman may be facing retaliation because of his friendship with @elonmusk,” she added.
The decision was announced shortly after Musk's exit from the White House last week.
Read more in a report at TheHill.com.
