Senate Confirms Jared Isaacman As NASA Administrator Under Trump
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator under President Donald Trump. The Senate approved Isaacman’s nomination by a 67–30 vote.
Isaacman becomes the space agency’s 15th administrator, Reuters reported. Trump removed Isaacman earlier this year before renominating him for the post.
During a second confirmation hearing two weeks ago, Isaacman told senators that NASA must accelerate its efforts to beat China back to the Moon this decade. Isaacman will lead an agency of about 14,000 employees.
NASA is currently investing billions of dollars into its Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface.
The Moon missions are intended to serve as a stepping stone for eventual crewed missions to Mars.
The White House has cut NASA’s workforce by about 20 percent as part of a government efficiency push led by Elon Musk.
The administration has also proposed cutting NASA’s 2026 budget by roughly 25 percent from its typical $25 billion level.
Those proposed cuts have put dozens of space science programs at risk.
Isaacman has advocated for an increased focus on Mars missions alongside the Artemis program.
He has also called for greater reliance on private companies, including SpaceX, to reduce costs and promote competition.
Of the votes in favor of Isaacman’s confirmation, 51 came from Republicans and 16 from Democrats.
All 30 votes against his confirmation were cast by Democrats.
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, voted to confirm Isaacman.
Cantwell has previously criticized the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce NASA’s science budget.
“During his nomination process, Mr. Isaacman emphasized the importance of developing a pipeline of future scientists, engineers, researchers, and astronauts,” Cantwell said.
Some Democratic senators raised concerns during Isaacman’s December 3 hearing about his close ties to Musk.
SpaceX currently holds about $15 billion in NASA contracts.
Musk supported Isaacman’s nomination after Trump was elected in 2024.
Musk has previously pushed for shifting the U.S. space program toward Mars during his time as a close adviser to Trump.
Lawmakers from both parties have stressed urgency in NASA’s competition with China to return astronauts to the Moon.
China has said it aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030.
NASA is targeting a 2028 Moon landing using the Space Launch System rocket and SpaceX’s Starship as a lunar lander.
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy congratulated Isaacman on X.
Duffy said Isaacman will lead NASA as it works to return to the Moon and compete with China.
Some 2,145 senior-ranking NASA employees are slated to depart as part of a staff reduction effort, raising concerns for White House space policy and threatening to strip the agency of decades of expertise, POLITICO reported in July.
These employees hold GS-13 to GS-15 positions, senior government ranks usually reserved for individuals with specialized skills or managerial roles.
The impact is especially pronounced at the top, with 875 GS-15 employees expected to leave, per documents seen by the outlet.
The 2,145 employees represent the majority of the 2,694 civil staff who have agreed to depart NASA under a series of offers aligned with broader administration efforts to reduce the federal workforce, according to the documents. NASA has provided options such as early retirement, buyouts, and deferred resignations, the outlet said.
Many of those departing are integral to NASA’s core missions, with 1,818 employees working in key areas like science and human spaceflight. The remainder hold mission support positions, including roles in IT, facilities management, and finance.
“You’re losing the managerial and core technical expertise of the agency,” Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, told POLITICO. “What’s the strategy, and what do we hope to achieve here?”
Supreme Court Delivers Another Key Ruling
The United States Supreme Court has delivered a high-stakes ruling that significantly bolsters the Trump administration’s authority to execute immigration removals to third-party nations. In an unsigned majority opinion released this Thursday, the Court confirmed that federal authorities have the legal green light to repatriate eight immigrants—currently detained at a U.S. military installation in Djibouti—to South Sudan. This ruling marks a critical juncture in the ongoing legal battle over the extent of judicial oversight regarding executive branch decisions in foreign territories.
The Genesis of the Legal Battle: Judge Murphy’s Injunction
The case reached the nation's highest court following a series of contentious rulings by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of Massachusetts. On April 18, Judge Murphy issued a preliminary injunction that severely limited the government’s ability to deport immigrants to nations not specifically listed in their original removal orders—a practice known as "third-country" removal. Murphy’s directive mandated that the federal government could not send individuals to these third countries without first ensuring, through specific judicial precautions, that the individuals would not be subjected to torture upon their return.
The conflict escalated when the administration attempted to deploy the eight detainees to South Sudan, a country the State Department advises against traveling to due to "crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict." When the flight was redirected to a U.S. military base in Djibouti, Judge Murphy viewed the move as a violation of his April 18 injunction. On May 21, he issued a secondary ruling asserting that his court’s authority remained in force, even as the administration sought to move the detainees forward.
The Administration’s Appeal and the High Court’s Intervention
The Trump administration, represented by U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing that Judge Murphy’s "judicially created procedures" were "wreaking havoc" on the removal process. Sauer contended that these lower-court mandates were disrupting sensitive diplomatic, foreign policy, and national security efforts.
The Supreme Court’s majority ultimately agreed with the administration’s procedural arguments. The Court clarified that its earlier stay issued on June 23 had already "stayed the April 18 preliminary injunction in full." Therefore, the majority concluded that Judge Murphy’s subsequent May 21 ruling could not be carried out because the injunction it sought to enforce had already been halted by the high court. This ruling effectively rebuked the district court for what the administration described as "unprecedented defiance" of the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction.
Humanitarian Implications and Judicial Dissent
The decision was met with a sharp dissent from the Court's liberal wing. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, argued that the government was moving to turn non-citizens over to local authorities in South Sudan "without regard for the likelihood that they will face torture or death." Sotomayor criticized the majority for failing to justify its "extraordinary decisions" and argued that the government should have been required to establish its case in the lower courts before seeking such a sweeping stay. She characterized the Court’s refusal to explain its reasoning as "indefensible."
Conversely, Justice Elena Kagan concurred with the conservative majority on procedural grounds. Although she had originally disapproved of the initial ruling permitting third-country removals, she stated that "most of this court saw things differently," and she did not believe a district court could force compliance with an order that the Supreme Court had already stayed.
Conclusion: A New Precedent for Removals
The eight detainees—reportedly from Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba—now face imminent removal to South Sudan under the full authority of the federal government. This ruling clarifies that once the Supreme Court issues a stay on a lower court’s injunction, that injunction is neutralized in its entirety, preventing district judges from attempting to enforce it through secondary orders. For the Trump administration, this represents a major victory in its efforts to streamline the deportation of non-citizens, even to volatile regions, while bypassing the procedural hurdles previously imposed by the lower courts.
I Tried to Stay Invisible While Cleaning His Mansion. Now, I'm the Only Weakness of a Ruthless Syndicate Boss.
“Don’t Get in the Car,” the Maid Warned While Fixing His Tie—The Mafia Boss Saw the Gun Too Late
Blood smelled like copper, but impending violence smelled like ozone and cold sweat.
Nora knew both intimately.
As she reached up to straighten Dominic’s silk tie, her knuckles brushed the steady pulse in his throat. He smelled of bergamot and bitter espresso.
Over his shoulder, through the glass double doors, she saw the driver.
His jacket hung incorrectly. A heavy metallic bulk ruined its bespoke lines.
Nora smoothed the silk.
“Your driver has a gun,” she whispered. “Don’t get in the car.”
Lemon oil and beeswax.
That was the scent of survival.
Nora moved the microfiber cloth in punishing concentric circles over the mahogany console table in the foyer. The wood was already immaculate, a dark mirror reflecting the cut-crystal chandelier overhead, but stillness inside the house was a liability.
If she stood still, she was listening.
If she was listening, she was a threat.
Nora kept her hands moving.
Her knuckles were raw, and harsh detergent had split the skin around her cuticles. Every flex of her fingers produced a mild sting.
It was a grounding pain.
It kept her awake.
Morning inside the Rossi estate was a sterile and muted affair. The walls were thick, and the carpets were plush enough to swallow the sound of a falling body.
Nora had worked there for 11 months, long enough to understand the architecture of power and the geometry of keeping her head down.
She was a maid, a ghost inside a gray uniform with white trim. Every Friday, she collected a cash envelope and deposited it directly into a checking account that was slowly and painfully building toward a 1-way ticket out of the state.
Footsteps sounded on the grand staircase.
They were not the hurried, heavy steps of the men guarding the perimeter. They were the measured, rhythmic clicks of leather against marble.
Dominic.
Nora did not look up immediately.
She moved to the side of the hall, lowered her head slightly, and blended into the damask wallpaper.
Dominic Rossi descended into the foyer, bringing a displacement of air that felt physically heavy.
He was not the hulking, scarred brute found in cheap films. He was lean, built with the coiled and wiry tension of a greyhound.
That morning, he wore a charcoal suit that probably cost more than Nora’s annual rent.
As he stepped from the final stair into the natural light coming through the frosted doors, Nora saw the frayed edges of his immaculate appearance.
His jaw was clenched.
Faint purple shadows beneath his dark eyes revealed nights spent staring at ceilings and calculating betrayals.
Dominic stopped beside the mirror above the console table.
He did not examine his reflection. He stared through the glass, his mind elsewhere, perhaps dissecting supply chains or arranging someone’s quiet disappearance.
Nora stood near the coat rack with his wool overcoat.
Her role was to hand it to him, open the door, and disappear.
Something was wrong.
Dominic’s tie was a heavy, woven midnight-blue silk. Its knot had been pulled slightly to the left, causing the collar of his white shirt to pinch awkwardly.
For anyone else, it would have meant nothing.
For Dominic Rossi, a man who controlled his surroundings with terrifying precision, it was an alarm.
He was distracted.
Dangerously so.
Nora stepped forward.
Her rubber-soled shoes squeaked softly against the marble.
Dominic’s eyes snapped toward her reflection.
They were cold and empty, the eyes of a predator registering movement.
Nora did not freeze.
Freezing was what prey did.
She kept her posture neutral and concentrated on his collar, ignoring the lethal weight of his attention.
She closed the distance between them.
“Your tie, sir,” she said without inflection.
He did not grant permission, but he did not step away.
That was enough.
Nora raised her hands.
The silk was cool beneath her rough fingertips.
She moved the knot precisely into the center of his throat, and the backs of her knuckles touched his skin.
He was burning.
Feverish heat radiated from his neck.
She smelled the clean citrus of his cologne. Beneath it was the acrid bitterness of old coffee and unrestrained stress.
He was a man holding a collapsing empire together with his bare hands.
As Nora smoothed his lapels, her eyes moved past his shoulder.
Through the reinforced glass of the front doors, she could see the circular driveway.
The armored black sedan was idling. Small clouds of white exhaust vanished into the cold morning air.
Arthur, the morning driver, stood beside the rear passenger door.
Nora had served him coffee many times.
He was a thickly built man who normally leaned against the fender, scrolling through his telephone with bored indifference.
That morning, Arthur was not leaning.
He stood rigidly upright.
His left hand was completely hidden behind his back.
It was the right side of his body that captured Nora’s attention.
His suit jacket hung incorrectly.
It did not drape. A bulge pulled the fabric tightly across his ribs, and the weight dragged the hem downward.
It was the unmistakable outline of a suppressed firearm inside a shoulder holster. The weapon sat higher and appeared bulkier than the standard sidearms carried by the estate guards.
Arthur was also sweating.
A thin layer of moisture reflected the sunlight across his forehead.
It was 40° outside.
His eyes repeatedly moved toward the front door.
He was not scanning the perimeter or waiting for his employer.
He was watching the glass.
Waiting for a target.
Nora’s hands remained on Dominic’s chest.
Her heart struck violently against her ribs.
If Dominic walked outside, Arthur would draw the gun.
There would be shouting, blood, and retaliation.
The estate would enter lockdown. No one would leave, and no one would be paid.
The fragile and quiet life Nora had constructed inside the shadows of the criminal organization would collapse.
She did not care about Dominic Rossi.
She cared about the Friday envelope.
She cared about routine.
Nora kept her expression completely blank.
She gave the silk tie 1 final and decisive adjustment.
Then she leaned forward by a fraction, her mouth near the lapel of Dominic’s suit.
“Your driver has a gun,” she whispered, barely audible over the grandfather clock ticking inside the hall. “Don’t get in the car.”
Dominic did not react.
That was the most frightening part.
A normal man would have jerked backward, looked through the doors, gasped, or demanded an explanation.
Dominic did nothing.
His breathing did not change.
His eyes remained fixed on Nora’s pale face without widening.
The coldness in his gaze seemed to deepen.
For 2 agonizing seconds, the foyer’s silence pressed against Nora’s ears.
Her hands still rested lightly against his chest.
She felt the calm and steady movement of his heart.
Then Dominic raised his hand.
His fingers closed around Nora’s wrist.
The grip was a steel vise, completely disproportionate to the elegance of his appearance. Pressure came immediately, grinding the delicate bones together.
A sharp gasp escaped her.
“You missed a spot,” Dominic said.
His low voice was pitched for ordinary conversation. It sounded casual and bored.
He did not look at the doors or Arthur.
Dominic pivoted smoothly and used his grip on her wrist to pull Nora with him.
He dragged her away from the glass and toward the interior of the estate, positioning her body between himself and the outside world.
A human shield.
The realization struck Nora with a wave of nausea.
If Arthur panicked and fired through the doors, the bullets would enter her spine first.
“Sir, my arm,” she said through clenched teeth.
She stumbled over the hem of her uniform skirt while trying to match Dominic’s long, unhurried strides.
“Quiet.”
The word carried the finality of a guillotine.
He pulled Nora past the dining room and toward the floor-to-ceiling oak doors of his private study.
She was permitted to clean that room only on Tuesdays and under a guard’s supervision.
It was Thursday.
Dominic opened the doors, pulled Nora inside, and kicked them closed.
The reinforced lock engaged with the sound of a vault sealing.
The study was dark and smelled of old paper, leather bindings, and faint cigar smoke. Heavy velvet drapes covered the windows.
The moment the lock engaged, Dominic’s facade disappeared.
He released Nora’s wrist.
She moved backward, rubbing the red marks already forming across her skin while her breath came in short, hard movements.
Dominic was already in motion.
The exhaustion was gone, replaced by kinetic violence.
He crossed the room in 3 steps and reached beneath the mahogany desk.
Metal scraped.
A slide moved with a heavy, oily clack.
When Dominic straightened, he held a black handgun.
He did not aim it at Nora. The barrel remained angled toward the Persian rug, but his body was coiled and ready.
