Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary and acting NASA administrator, is on thin ice with the White House after he reignited a feud with the world’s richest man: Elon Musk.
Duffy is trying to hang onto his role as NASA administrator and wants to see the space agency wrapped into the Department of Transportation, sources familiar with the matter told NOTUS.
However, Jared Isaacman — a Musk ally who was nominated for the post before being withdrawn — has returned as a frontrunner to head the space agency.
Sources told NOTUS that Duffy was beginning to feel the pressure that his plan to fold NASA under his purview as secretary of transportation was slipping, as Isaacman was making inroads with President Donald Trump and others in the administration.
Sources said that Duffy appears to be putting his own interests ahead of the administration’s, and in doing so, rubbed people the wrong way.
“There are people in the White House who believe Duffy has made unnecessary chaos rather than just accept that his time is in the sunset,” one administration official told NOTUS.
Earlier this week, Duffy went on multiple news shows to tout the work NASA is doing. But, at the same time, he said that Musk’s SpaceX was behind in getting humans back on the moon, and NASA is “not going to wait for one company.”
Despite saying he “loves SpaceX” and that he thinks it’s “a great American company,” Duffy’s comments sent Musk into a fury, calling Duffy “Sean Dummy” and saying he is “trying to kill NASA.”
A spokesperson for NASA, Bethany Stevens, said that Duffy’s mission, “as Acting NASA Administrator, is to get America back to the Moon in a manned mission before China, and before President Trump leaves office. It’s a matter of national security and national pride.”
“He’s introduced competition from other companies to make sure President Trump is watching from Kennedy Space Center when American astronauts launch to plant our flag again,” Stevens added. “All companies do better and innovate faster when there’s competition.”
After their spectacular public falling out, President Donald Trump, his administration and Musk have kept a fragile peace.
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Duffy, seemingly breaking the detente with Musk, was the final straw for many in the White House, sources told NOTUS.
“Everyone, and I mean everyone in the West Wing, is furious at him,” one source with knowledge of the dynamic told NOTUS.
While it’s unclear if Trump himself is done with Duffy, those closest to the president appear to be livid.
“Sean has overplayed his hand,” one source close to the White House told NOTUS. “Not so much in dealing directly with the president, but more so with the West Wing and the rest of the administration. He has spent the last couple of weeks being a cowboy, and it’s caught up to him.”
Isaacman’s potential nomination is being revived by several key figures, Politico reported, including Sen. Tim Sheehy and MAGA influencer Laura Loomer.
In a statement, Liz Huston, a spokesperson for the White House, said that Trump “has assembled the greatest Cabinet in history, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is a trusted, valued, and loyal member of the President’s team.”
“As for the NASA Administrator nomination, it’s solely up to President Trump to make a decision and it will be announced by him directly when it’s made,” Huston said.