Republican lawmakers are choosing sides as a battle looms over whether to allow Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to remain as the head of NASA, according to a report from Politico.
Politico’s Chris Marquette and Audrey Decker are reporting that the job of NASA administrator is taking on new “urgency” under Donald Trump, who would like to see a return to the moon while he is still in office, and there is a belief that Duffy, a former Fox News personality, may be spread too thin.
According to the report, Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) is leading the charge to hand the reins over to Jared Isaacman, who had originally been proposed for the job, before it all fell apart after it was revealed that Isaacman had donated to Democrats, which was a contributing factor to his being dumped and the job being handed to Duffy.
Among Sheehy's allies in his pressure campaign is tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has taken to referring to the current NASA chief as “Sean Dummy," and claimed he is "destroying NASA."
Politico is reporting, “The Montana Republican is helping lead the group that has worked to resuscitate Isaacman’s bid ever since it failed this spring. Those efforts culminated in a series of conversations with President Donald Trump, Sheehy said, who does not appear to have written off the idea. Sheehy, in an interview, said he spoke with Trump at a Rose Garden lunch on Tuesday about Isaacman, who praised the former nominee and wanted to talk to Duffy about a way forward.”
The report notes that Duffy wants to keep the job and has been making a push to have the space agency merged with the Department of Transportation.
On Duffy’s side is Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee.
“My understanding is [Isaacman’s] being considered to be potentially renominated,” said Cruz before adding, “I like Jared. I like Sean Duffy. I think Sean is doing a terrific job right now.”
According to Sheehy, who is friends with Isaacman, “It’s just the reality is, you know, you get to this level of governance, it’s competitive. Duffy can run DOT great and he can probably run NASA great. He can’t run both.”
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