Musk's enemy got the top job
Interim NASA administrator appointed – Trump marks against Musk
Musk's enemy got the top job
Trump appoints Sean Duffy as interim NASA administrator – replacing Musk's first choice Jared Isaacman.
The nod came after a high-profile feud between Musk and the president.
At the same time, the space agency is threatened by mass layoffs and cuts.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday appointed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as acting administrator of NASA, Reuters reports. Duffy will retain his ministerial post in parallel with the new assignment.
Withdrawn the nomination
"Sean is doing a FANTASTIC job of managing our country's transportation issues ... He will be a fantastic leader for the increasingly important space agency, if only for a short time," Trump writes on the Truth Social platform.
The president had initially nominated tech billionaire Jared Isaacman for the position, who is a close collaborator of Elon Musk. But after Trump and Musk fell out and Musk left the White House, the president withdrew the nomination.
The relationship between Sean Duffy and Musk is even worse. The Daily Beast newspaper describes Duffy as Musk's "enemy", after previous conflicts over flight safety and NASA-related issues.
Trump announced the appointment at the same time that Politico reported that more than 2,100 high-ranking NASA employees are at risk of losing their jobs, as a result of the White House's planned cuts.
Threat of closures
NASA is now at risk of losing key talent, which could complicate plans for a manned moon mission in 2027 and a future mission to Mars. Both require advanced technology and extensive logistics.
Since Trump returned to the presidency, the space agency has been plagued by concerns, layoffs and threats to close dozens of programs, according to Politico.
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