Cruz sets Isaacman's Senate confirmation hearing for NASA administrator for Dec. 3

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Cruz on Tuesday night scheduled billionaire Jared Isaacman's second confirmation hearing to become the next NASA administrator for early next month. 

President Donald Trump first nominated Isaacman, who is an ally of SpaceX founder Elon Musk, for the post last year. But he withdrew the nomination in May and placed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in the post on a temporary basis.

Trump nominated Isaacman a second time on Nov. 4, despite his lack of experience in the federal government. Isaacman is a tech entrepreneur who led the credit card payment processing company Shift4 and helped fund Musk's Polaris Project.

Cruz emphasized the importance of a strong leader at NASA as the United States looks to beat China in the space race.

"I know [Isaacman] is committed to having American astronauts return to the lunar surface and to developing the capacity to reach Mars," Cruz said on X. "Great meeting today, and I look forward to having him before the Commerce Committee on December 3."

The hearing will allow senators to question Isaacman about some controversial positions he took in a 62-page manifesto titled "Project Athena" that was circulated on Capitol Hill earlier this year, according to Axios. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.