Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy is beginning to anger the White House as drama over his temporary position as administrator of NASA and the "internal wrangling" over the future of the critical agency spills out into the open, CNN reported on Monday.
"Duffy ... has said privately that he would like to not only hold the space chief title permanently, but also fold NASA into the Department of Transportation, one source told CNN," said the report — all of which is causing "frustration" for the White House. "Duffy now has competition as Jared Isaacman – the Elon Musk associate whose nomination for the position was pulled by Trump earlier this year – has re-emerged as a candidate for the top job at NASA."
Isaacman's initial removal from nomination was reportedly a big factor in Musk's huge, public falling out with the Trump administration earlier this year.
"Isaacman and Trump, however, reopened lines of communication over the summer, and it soon became clear to officials, including Duffy, that Isaacman was back in the mix to lead NASA," the report noted. "Duffy, who has ruffled feathers within the White House for going directly to Trump, rather than through proper White House channels, suggested to the president that he be part of the hiring process for the NASA administrator role."
One White House official was keen to stress that Trump still likes Duffy, and "He’s not going anywhere." However, his ambition to stay in the NASA role has left many others in the administration annoyed at the additional drama.
All of this comes amid crises for the Transportation Department, including a shortage of air traffic controllers that has been exacerbated by the federal shutdown.