Reuters reported Wednesday that President Donald Trump appointed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as interim NASA administrator.
“Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs … He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time,” the president said on Truth Social.
In May, Trump withdrew the nomination of billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman for the top post at the space agency. Isaacman is a close ally of SpaceX Founder and CEO Elon Musk.
Who Is Sean Duffy?
In January, Duffy was sworn in as the 20th secretary of the Department of Transportation after the Senate voted 77-22 to confirm his nomination.
Duffy served in Congress for 10 years as the representative for Wisconsin’s 7th District. The Republican served on the House Financial Services Committee and helped address local transportation concerns through his co-chairmanship of the Great Lakes Task Force.
Before serving as a congressman, he spent a decade as the district attorney of Ashland County in Wisconsin.
After leaving Congress, the Wisconsin native hosted the Fox Business show “The Bottom Line with Dagen and Duffy.”
The DOT secretary and NASA’s acting administrator has a marketing degree from St. Mary’s University and a juris doctorate degree from William Mitchell College of Law.
