Trump appoints Transportation Secretary as acting NASA chief after rejecting Musk's favorite

US President Donald Trump has appointed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as acting NASA administrator, days after withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman , a close associate of tycoon Elon Musk, now disgraced in the administration.

“Sean is doing an incredible job handling the nation’s transportation issues, including creating state-of-the-art air traffic control systems, while rebuilding roads and bridges, making them more efficient and beautiful again,” the US president praised in Truth Social , according to Europa Press.

Trump has said that Duffy will be “a fantastic leader of the most important space agency ever, even if it’s only for a short time.”

Duffy will take over on an interim basis, a position that has been at the center of debate due to Trump's dispute with Musk , who had favored Isaacman to lead the space agency. However, after his nomination in December, the US president reversed himself in late May.

Trump later acknowledged that it was “inappropriate” to choose Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut, because of his business dealings with Musk, owner of SpaceX.

“NASA needs political leadership from someone the president trusts and has faith in,” Isaacman responded to X , wishing Duffy luck.

Meanwhile, more than 2,100 senior NASA employees are on the verge of losing their jobs, Politico reported , in line with the Trump administration's cutback policies .