‘Fantastic leader for NASA’: Trump taps Sean Duffy as interim space chief, drops Musk ally Isaacman

US President Donald Trump has appointed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as the interim NASA administrator, filling a key leadership gap after withdrawing Elon Musk ally Jared Isaacman. Announced via Truth Social on July 9, Trump praised Duffy’s work modernising transportation and called him a ‘fantastic leader’ for the space agency. The move comes amid growing Trump-Musk tensions and rising political influence over NASA’s direction, as the agency faces global space rivalries and major missions ahead.