NASA has a leader again. On Wednesday, the US Senate class=”link rapid-with-clickid etailiffa-link” href=”https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=c813ae39-7d58-41cb-ac66-ad830606ceef&siteId=us-engadget&pageId=1p-autolink&contentUuid=cf534aea-a343-4253-b8c9-6032d53ab63a&featureId=text-link&merchantName=The+New+York+Times&linkText=confirmed&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVyaXpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5ueXRpbWVzLmNvbS8yMDI1LzEyLzE3L3NjaWVuY2UvbmFzYS1qYXJlZC1pc2FhY21hbi1jb25maXJtZWQtc2VuYXRlLmh0bWwiLCJjb250ZW50VXVpZCI6ImNmNTM0YWVhLWEzNDMtNDI1My1iOGM5LTYwMzJkNTNhYjYzYSIsIm9yaWdpbmFsVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyNS8xMi8xNy9zY2llbmNlL25hc2EtamFyZWQtaXNhYWNtYW4tY29uZmlybWVkLXNlbmF0ZS5odG1sIn0&signature=AQAAAenYLtO1lgUMcFaCzOijpBPxvE9uerFzbxElDGgvmrKt&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F12%2F17%2Fscience%2Fnasa-jared-isaacman-confirmed-senate.html&spaceId=1197802876″ data-i13n=”elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:The New York Times;elmt:;cpos:1;pos:1″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:confirmed;elm:affiliate_link;sellerN:The New York Times;elmt:;cpos:1;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>confirmed Jared Isaacman as the agency’s administrator, with a 67-30 vote. The billionaire entrepreneur (and Elon Musk ally) will have his hands full navigating political waters while managing a class=”link ” href=”https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-will-lose-over-2000-senior-staff-due-to-proposed-trump-budget-cuts-210109229.html” data-i13n=”cpos:2;pos:1″ data-ylk=”slk:severely downsized workforce;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>severely downsized workforce.
You might recall that this wasn’t Isaacman’s first shot at the job. He was nominated to the post earlier this year. But days before he was scheduled for a confirmation vote, President Donald Trump class=”link ” href=”https://www.engadget.com/science/space/trump-makes-a-last-minute-backtrack-on-his-pick-to-lead-nasa-153253836.html” data-i13n=”cpos:3;pos:1″ data-ylk=”slk:withdrew his nomination;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>withdrew his nomination.
The…
