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A day after the White House held a farewell press conference for SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, highlighting his efforts as a resigned leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), President Donald Trump plucked Musk Ally Jared Isaacman as the NASA administrator.
The White House thanked Musk’s contributions for recording the May 30 video to Doge, as well as several X posts listing various “Doge Wins,” but the gesture was part of the last final public action of goodwill between Trump and Musk.
On Saturday, Trump announced in a social media post that he would withdraw the nomination of Isaacman, a commercial astronaut and founder and CEO of payment processing company Shift4 Payments, after a “comprehensive review of previous associations.”
Trump also said he would reveal a “new candidate” that would “put America first in space, in line with the mission.”
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Jared Isaacman, a candidate for NASA administrator, was launched by the White House on Saturday. (Tom Brenner of the Washington Post by Getty Images)
Isaacman’s affiliation with Musk includes 4 in addition to being a SpaceX investor, as well as leading two private space flight missions on SpaceX, including Inspiration4. The 2021 Inspiration4 mission was the first time all Civilian crews orbited the Earth.
Isaac Man addressed the pulled nominations in an episode of the “All-in-Podcast,” hosted by four venture capitalists and that fell on Wednesday, covering business, technology and society. Specifically, Isaacman said he received a call from the White House on May 30 that his nomination would not progress as the White House “decided to go in a different direction.”
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Isaacman said he suspected his relationship with Musk was part of the decision, but was pointed out on the same day Musk’s tenure with Doge ended.
“There’s no need to do anything stupid with this,” Isaac Man said on the podcast. “The timing was a coincidence and I don’t think there were any other changes on the same day.
“There were a few people who had a grinding shaft. I think I was a good, visible target.”
Tensions between Musk and Trump continued to escalate even after Musk’s departure as a special government employee, and on May 30th and the following day after Isakuman’s nomination of withdrawal.
President Donald Trump purchased Tesla from the White House mask in early 2025 as a show to support the electric car maker in the face of consumer backlash against Musk’s political activities. (Mandel nkan/AFP via Getty Images)
Musk previously told CBS News in an interview clip released on May 27 that he was disappointed with the passage of Trump’s massive tax and spending package, “big beautiful bill,” but as it increased the federal deficit, Musk’s attacks rose exponentially after Trump retracted Isaacman’s nomination.
Specifically, on Tuesday, Musk labelled the scale as “nasty hatred,” and then urged Americans to contact lawmakers on Wednesday’s X-Post to “kill the bill.”
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that Trump was aware of Musk’s position on the bill, and that did not change the president’s stance on the measure. And Trump didn’t write words on Thursday. The words were not etched as the two men reached the boiling point.
Musk said he was frustrated by the provisions of the bill that cuts electric vehicle tax credits that benefit businesses like Tesla. He also suggested that Musk could suffer from “Trump Mad Syndrome,” a term used to describe a deeply negative reaction to the President.
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“I am extremely disappointed because Elon knew the internal mechanisms of this bill were better than most people sitting here than most people,” Trump said in an oval office during a meeting with German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz.
“He knew everything about it. He had no issues with it. Suddenly, he had a problem because it was billions and billions of dollars and it was really unfair.
Trump also mentioned Isaacman’s nomination, claiming that Musk recommended Isaacman for the role. However, Trump has expressed concern about Isaacman’s relationship with the Democrats.
“He wanted, so rightly, he recommended that someone know him well. “And I didn’t think it was appropriate. And he happened to be a Democrat. And just like a Democrat. And we know, we won. We get certain privileges. And one of the privileges is that we don’t have to appoint Democrats. NASA is very important.”
Elon Musk receives the Golden Key from President Donald Trump at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 30, 2025 (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
Trump then said he “understands” why Musk was upset with the nomination he was quoted.
The White House directed Fox News Digital to Trump’s comments Thursday, directing Isaacman’s previous donations to Democrats, including New York Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Isaacman told “All-in-podcast” he doesn’t think his past political donations to the Democrats were the factor in his tug-in-appointment and he is identifying him as “right.”
Isaacman and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Trump and Musk continued to trade barbs on Thursday. At one point, Musk urged the removal of “snarky pork” included in Trump’s tax and spending bills. He also said that it was “false” that he was given a “nothing” measure.
Musk even said Trump would not have won the 2024 election without Musk’s support. Meanwhile, Trump accused Musk of becoming “crazy” with the cut of EV credits, saying that the Musk is “slim.”
President Donald Trump is joined by Tesla, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and son X Musk, signing in the White House’s oval office on February 11, 2025.
Politico reported that Trump and Musk are scheduled to speak by phone on Friday, but Trump has shut down speculations of a call between them.
“No. I won’t talk to him for a while, but I really hope for him,” Trump said.
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“I don’t even think about Elon. He has problems. The poor guy has problems,” Trump said.
Despite the departure of masks, White House officials say Doge’s efforts to address waste, fraud and abuse continue, with Trump and cabinet members going to oversee Doge. The agency is scheduled to officially close on July 4, 2026.
Diana Stancy is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, covering the White House.
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