Jared Isaacman confirmed to be the next head of NASA

Billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman has been confirmed by the US Senate as the next administrator of NASA. The astronaut and founder of the Shift4 investment strategy will now oversee an organization that is facing significant uncertainty under President Trump.

Isaacman’s confirmation comes a year after Trump nominated him. It was an uneventful year for Isaacman, however, as Trump announced his candidacy in June anxiety “primary corporations” of billionaires. (Isaacman had already given to the Democrats, something Trump he knew when he chose the first business.)

This led to a months-long rift between Trump’s camp and people close to Isaacman, such as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who publicly challenged the integrity of NASA administrator Sean Duffy. Trump ultimately reversed course in November and renominated Isaacman.

The billionaire will now be in charge of the well-organized organization that Trump has entrusted with the mission to return to the Moon. SpaceX has a contract to put astronauts on Earth, although Duffy has threatened to terminate the contract, and has encouraged Jeff Bezos’ rival company Blue Origin to try to beat Musk’s work.