Trump announces Interim Head of NASA in stinging rebuke to Musk

In a move sure to get under Elon Musk’s skin, President Donald Trump named Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as the interim administrator of NASA this week.

“I am pleased to announce that I am directing our GREAT Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to be Interim Administrator of NASA,” the President wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.

“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. He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time,” he added. “Congratulations, and thank you, Sean!”

Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let’s launch. ️ pic.twitter.com/ZBoEgPnwz4

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) July 10, 2025

“Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let’s launch,” Duffy responded on X.

The temporary move was meant to fill the gap where Janet Petro, a former head of the Kennedy Space Center, served as the acting administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Trump’s choice to place Duffy in the role sparked speculation about Musk’s reaction as the two had frequently clashed when the Tesla and SpaceX CEO served as head of the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman was recommended by Musk to fill the role, and Trump had initially followed through on a nomination. But a “thorough review of prior associations” led the president to pull Isaacman’s name days before a confirmation vote in the Senate, a move believed to have triggered Musk.

“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last weekend.

“Elon asked that one of his close friends run NASA and, while I thought his friend was very good, I was surprised to learn that he was a blue blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before,” Trump continued. “I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life. My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!”

Earlier this year, Duffy took a shot at DOGE cuts affecting his department, saying during a press conference that “though I want us to be more efficient, I also look, and as I think of DOGE cutting things, I don’t know about that elsewhere, but we actually build things here, right?”

“You can’t cut your way to a new road, you can’t cut your way to a new bridge, you can’t cut your way into a new air traffic control system. So we’re actually going to build in this department,” he said at the time.

In March, following multiple plane crashes, Duffy reportedly yelled at Musk in a White House meeting, saying, “I have multiple plane crashes to deal with now, and your people want me to fire air traffic controllers?”