Jared Isaacman’s NASA Nomination Collapses; Exit Leaves Questions About NASA’s Direction

Let’s get something straight. I said from the beginning that Jared Isaacman was not qualified to run NASA. Not because I knew every donation he had made but because he doesn’t have a STEM background. He’s not an engineer. He’s not a scientist. He didn’t rise through the ranks of public service. He got rich, paid for his ride to space, and suddenly that made him a legitimate contender in the eyes of Donald Trump. That doesn’t impress me. That’s not a qualification. That’s an ego trip.

Yes, I’ll admit I didn’t know he had donated to Democrats in the past. That was new information. But here’s the bigger issue. If you choose to orbit around Donald Trump, I am going to assume the worst. Not because I want to be unfair but because the track record is clear. Everyone around Trump is there for one reason. They are not serving the country. They are not serving the institutions they are placed in. They are serving him.

Isaacman’s nomination was yanked just days before his confirmation vote. The excuse was a so-called review of prior associations. That’s a laughable excuse coming from an administration that proudly keeps Kristi Noem around. This is not about ethics. It is about loyalty. This is what happens when you associate with a president who treats the government like his personal court.

And let’s be honest. Isaacman is not some lost hero. He was willing to play ball. He accepted the nomination. He was fine with being a figurehead picked because of his money and connections. It doesn’t matter that he flew in space. That doesn’t make him qualified to lead a complex scientific agency like NASA. This was about image, not merit.

What this shows us again is that Trump does not care about the function or future of NASA. He doesn’t care about long-term goals or restoring global leadership in space. He cares about headlines, loyalty, and the optics of appointing rich allies who will not challenge him. We saw this across his entire administration the first time. And it is playing out again right in front of us.

NASA is now in limbo. Again. Janet Petro is acting administrator. She is capable and experienced but not who Trump wants because she is not a brand. She is not a billionaire. She is not a puppet. So she will be ignored while the administration scrambles to find another name they can trust to shut up and follow orders.

I am past the point of worrying about individual appointments. I say let it all collapse. If it takes Social Security failing or Medicare being gutted or NASA falling behind China for people to wake up, then maybe that’s what it will take. Americans have grown too used to getting benefits while voting for the very people who want to destroy them. When your parents can’t get medication, when your kids can’t go to college, when your future is owned by the highest bidder, maybe then you’ll get it.

The Democratic Party is silent. There is no clear leader. No vision. That vacuum is being filled by a Republican Party that has completely sold out to a wannabe dictator with no regard for institutions, laws, or facts. And everyone he surrounds himself with is a reflection of that decay.

Jared Isaacman is not the real story. He is just another piece of it. The bigger story is what happens when government becomes a loyalty contest. When being a donor matters more than being competent. When science is sacrificed for spectacle. That is what Donald Trump represents. That is what his administration guarantees. And that is exactly what America is walking into again.