Sean Duffy irks White House as drama over top job at NASA seeps into public view

By Kristen Holmes, CNN

(CNN) — Some Trump administration officials, including at the White House, have expressed frustration with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in recent weeks as internal wrangling over who will lead NASA spilled into public view, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Duffy, who also serves as NASA’s acting administrator, has said privately that he would like to not only hold the space chief title permanently, but also fold NASA into the Department of Transportation, one source told CNN.

A spokesperson for the secretary told CNN he said that “NASA might benefit from being part of the Cabinet, maybe even within the Department of Transportation,” but denied Duffy said he wanted to keep the NASA administrator job.

There is now competition as Jared Isaacman – the Elon Musk associate whose nomination for the position was pulled by President Donald Trump earlier this year – has reemerged as a candidate for the top job at NASA.

The abrupt withdrawal of Isaacman left a bad taste in the mouths of many within the White House, who pointed fingers at a top Trump aide for convincing the president that Isaacman’s past Democratic donations disqualified him.

That frustration only grew when the decision appeared to ignite a messy monthslong feud between Trump and billionaire Musk.

Isaacman and Trump, however, reopened lines of communication over the summer, and it soon became clear to officials, including Duffy, that Isaacman was back in the mix to lead NASA.

Duffy, who has ruffled feathers within the White House for going directly to Trump, rather than through proper White House channels, suggested to the president that he be part of the hiring process for the NASA administrator role, a White House official said. A NASA spokesperson denied that account to CNN.

Duffy and several of his DOT advisers interviewed Isaacman on October 13 for the job. Duffy has conducted other interviews as well; however, in the eyes of White House officials, Isaacman has remained the front-runner.

“(Trump) likes (Duffy). He’s not going anywhere,” a White House official said, while noting the public spectacle over the NASA job has been a headache for some administration officials. Another source said that the president was praising Duffy privately to advisers while traveling in Asia.

A spokesperson for Duffy said the secretary has focused NASA “on one clear goal — making sure America gets back to the Moon before China.”

“The President asked him to talk with potential candidates for Administrator, and he’s been happy to help by vetting people and giving his honest feedback,” the spokesperson added in a statement. “The bottom line is that Secretary Duffy is here to serve the President, and he will support whomever the President nominates.”

Isaacman has courted the president as well, making high-dollar donations and attending fundraisers at the White House as recently as this month, one source said. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the jockeying for the top NASA post.

The internal battle came into the spotlight last week, as Musk got involved, publicly sparring with Duffy about the future of NASA.

“Should someone whose biggest claim to fame is climbing trees be running America’s space program?” Musk wrote on X. “Sean Dummy is trying to kill NASA!” he said in another post.

It came after Duffy told CNBC last week that he believes SpaceX, which has a $2.9 billion contract to provide the lunar lander astronauts would ride to the moon’s surface, is lagging behind schedule.

Trump was made aware of the attacks on Duffy during his trip to Asia — only commenting that he didn’t like Musk going after the transportation secretary.

White House officials said that while the president would eventually name a head of NASA, it wasn’t something that he was fixated on, making it unclear when it would happen.

“Secretary Duffy is a valuable member of President Trump’s team and he is doing a tremendous job leading the department of transportation, especially during this difficult time when Democrats have shut down the government and forced air traffic controllers to work without pay,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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