Trump taps Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to temporarily lead NASA

Trump did not indicate how long Duffy would serve in the post, but it comes after he named Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting national security advisor.

By Misty Severi

Published: July 9, 2025 9:43pm

President Donald Trump on Wednesday night announced that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will serve as the interim administrator of NASA, making him the latest Cabinet official to wear multiple hats.

The move comes after Trump pulled tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman's nomination for the post last month, because of his "past associations." Isaacman is also an ally of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has since had a falling out with Trump.

Trump did not indicate how long Duffy would serve in the post, but it comes after he named Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting national security advisor.

“Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time.”

Duffy accepted the position in a post on X, stating that he was “Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let’s launch.”

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