Incoming NASA Administrator Brags That He Has No Idea What's Going On

It's been four months since president Donald Trump tapped billionaire tech founder — and SpaceX space tourist — Jared Isaacman as the new head of NASA.

Isaacman has reportedly been preparing for his upcoming confirmation hearing in Washington, DC. But given his latest tweet, he still has a lot to learn. The man, who's about to oversee an agency that's expected to be gutted in the coming months and years, knows astonishingly little of what's going on — and he seems proud of that fact.

According to a recent reporting by Ars Technica, the Trump administration is looking to slash the space agency's science budget by as much as 50 percent, which could prove disastrous for the future of space research.

You'd think that would be top of mind for Isaacman, but his head is instead blissfully empty.

"I'm a humble nominee on the outside, hoping for a chance to contribute," he tweeted over the weekend, responding to a post that referenced the news. "I don't know anything about those supposed cuts, but the President said he's targeting fraud, waste & abuse w/ a scalpel — not a hatchet."

It's a surprisingly tone-deaf outburst that rehashes largely meaningless claims made by president Donald Trump during a recent Cabinet meeting.

Isacman downplayed Ars' reporting, dismissing it as "rumor and speculation."

But what if there's some truth to those rumors? Does Isaacman really not know what's going on, despite being widely expected to take control of NASA? If there's one person who should arguably be clued into any upcoming, potentially existential cuts to NASA's budget, it should be him.

"This is not a good sign," Keith Cowing, founder of an unofficial NASA advocacy group called NASA Watch, responded. "It would seem by virtue of this tweet that [Isaacman] has not been following the news that closely — even if he is still a nominee."

"Nominees should avoid making public comments and IMHO this would have been a perfect opportunity to pass on commenting," Cowing added.

SpaceX CEO and unelected White House advisor Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency has been causing mass confusion in Washington, DC, after early reports suggested that over 1,000 NASA employees were put on the chopping block last month. Not long after, the Houston Chronicle reported that they'd been spared as part of a chaotic last-minute decision.

Amidst the confusion, morale at the agency reached "absurdly low" levels last month, as Ars reported at the time.

Even NASA's flagship Artemis program, which is aiming to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon before the end of the decade, appears to be in serious danger, with Musk repeatedly voicing his desire to skip the Moon and go straight to Mars instead.

Meanwhile, apart from spending his time retweeting archival pictures of Air Force jets, Isaacman has been strikingly quiet.

In a statement, he called to develop tech that unlocks "mission optionality from the Moon to Mars and beyond," but treated space as an untapped source of profit rather than a chance to learn about the origins of humanity, our planet's past, and ways to address the challenges we're facing as a species.

"Space holds unparalleled potential for breakthroughs in manufacturing, biotechnology, mining, and perhaps even pathways to new sources of energy," Isaacman wrote in his announcement, calling for NASA to "usher in an era where humanity becomes a true spacefaring civilization."

In other words, his position on the kind of scientific research that could soon be axed remains as vague as ever.

Isaacman's confirmation will be overseen by senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) — a date has yet to be announced — which may force him to carefully toe the line.

Why? Musk again: earlier this year, the billionaire called for the International Space Station to be deorbited three years early because, he insisted, the scientific research being done on the orbital outpost was no longer worth it.

Cruz is an outspoken and longtime advocate of the space station, which could put Isaacman in an awkward position. Either he appeals to the desires of Congress, or tries to make sense of and advocate for the whims of the world's richest person.

It's an unenviable task that's bound to lead to friction, and whether he'll ultimately be up to the task remains to be seen.

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