WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed American billionaire entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman, nominated by President Donald Trump, to be NASA administrator.
The nomination of Isaacman was confirmed by a 67-30 vote.
Isaacman was initially nominated by Trump last December, but the nomination was withdrawn in May amid concerns over his previous donations to Democrats and close ties to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who left the White House just a few days before Trump withdrew Isaacman's normination. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had been serving as NASA's interim administrator until a permanent head was in place.
In November, Trump renominated Isaacman as NASA administrator, saying on his Truth Social, "Jared's passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era."
Accepting the latest nomination, Isaacman said that he was committed to leading NASA's next era of human space exploration, including missions to the Moon and beyond.
Isaacman is the founder of Shift4 Payments, a payment processing and technology solutions company based in Pennsylvania. He is also the co-founder of Draken International, a Florida-based aerospace company.
During his second confirmation hearing on Dec. 3, Isaacman pledged to be free of conflicts of interest in his role. According to the Associated Press, Isaacman had promised in a June letter to resign from all private sector positions upon confirmation. ■
