In an unexpected move, President Trump has re-nominated billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. The decision comes after the president initially withdrew his nomination of Isaacman earlier this year amid concerns over his political contributions.

Isaacman, founder and CEO of payment processing company Shift4 Payments, was first nominated by Trump but later rescinded in May following revelations about his history of donating to Democratic candidates. Since then, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has served as interim administrator.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced the re-nomination, highlighting Isaacman’s background as a business leader, philanthropist, and astronaut. The president praised Isaacman’s “passion for Space” and his role in advancing the “new Space economy,” claiming he is “ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era.”

Isaacman’s ties to Elon Musk include investments in SpaceX and his leadership of private space missions like Inspiration4, the first all-civilian crew to orbit Earth. He responded to the announcement with a statement expressing gratitude to Trump and Duffy, vowing to “live up to expectations” as NASA’s leader.

The re-nomination follows Trump’s earlier pledge to select a nominee “Mission aligned” with his vision for space exploration. No further details about the timeline or next steps have been released.