Senate Committee Advances Nomination for NASA Administrator

Jared Isaacman is an entrepreneur and veteran astronaut from the Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn missions. He undertook the first-ever private spacewalk.

(L–R) Anna Menon, Scott Poteet, commander Jared Isaacman, and Sarah Gillis, crew members of Polaris Dawn, a private human spaceflight mission, attend a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Aug. 19, 2024. Joe Skipper/Reuters/File Photo

A Senate panel on April 30 approved Jared Isaacman’s nomination to become the next administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The Senate Committee on Communication, Science, and Transportation voted 19–9 to advance the nomination, with several Democratic committee members, including ranking Democratic member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), voting with their Republican counterparts.