Trump names Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as interim NASA administrator

Two men in dark suits sit at a brown wooden table with a single glass of water. The man on the right has his hands raised and his lips pursed.

NASA is under new management after an announcement from President Trump late Wednesday evening named current Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy as the agency's interim administrator.

The announcement, posted on the President's Truth Social platform on July 9, credits Duffy for doing a "TREMENDOUS job" in his role as transportation secretary, which it seems he will maintain as he also oversees the space agency. The appointment came on the eve of the Senate Appropriations Committee's scheduled markup of the White House's bill that allocates funds to NASA, which proposes a nearly 25% cut to the agency's overall budget, and decimates funding for current and future science missions by almost 50%.