Round 2: Watch Senate hearing for Jared Isaacman’s re-nomination as NASA chief today

Chairman Cruz Announces Nominations Hearing for NASA and Commerce Nominees – YouTube

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The U.S. Senate will hold a hearing to consider billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman’s re-nomination for NASA chief on today (Dec. 3), and you can watch the action live.

The hearing, before the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT).

It will stream live on the committee’s website and on YouTube. Space.com will carry the feed as well, if (as expected) it’s made available.

This will be the second such hearing for Jared Isaacman, a private astronaut who has funded and commanded two SpaceX missions to Earth orbit.

The first occurred in April and seemed to go well, setting Isaacman up for confirmation in early June. But on May 31, President Donald Trump abruptly pulled his nomination, citing Isaacman’s past donations to Democratic political candidates and concerns about his relationship with SpaceX boss Elon Musk. (That relationship is purely professional and would not affect his activities as NASA chief, according to Isaacman.)

If the Senate confirms Isaacman, the founder of the payment-processing company Shift4, he will take the reins from Sean Duffy, who currently serves as the agency’s acting administrator. Duffy is a former reality TV star who is also head of the Department of Transportation.

Isaacman won’t be the only person appearing before the committee on Wednesday. The senators will also consider the nomination of Steven Haines to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis.