Overview
- President Trump reinstated Isaacman’s nomination on Tuesday, months after withdrawing it in May following questions about the nominee’s past associations and political donations.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has served as interim NASA administrator since July, and reporting ties the circulation of the 62-page 'Athena' document to his office, a claim not independently confirmed by outlets citing those sources.
- The Athena plan reportedly advocates running NASA more like a business, shifting climate research to academia, buying data from commercial providers, and canceling Gateway and SLS after two additional missions.
- Duffy has moved to reopen competition for NASA’s Artemis lunar lander contract and has been reported to have floated folding NASA into the Transportation Department, drawing sharp public criticism from Elon Musk.
- Isaacman acknowledged the renomination and praised Duffy’s interim leadership, the Senate Commerce Committee had previously approved him in April, and a full Senate vote now looms.