Some Trump administration officials, including at the White House, have expressed frustration with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in recent weeks as internal wrangling over who will lead NASA spilled into public view, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.<\/p>\n
Duffy, who also serves as NASA\u2019s acting administrator,<\/a> has said privately that he would like to not only hold the space chief title permanently, but also fold NASA into the Department of Transportation, one source told CNN.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the secretary told CNN he said that \u201cNASA might benefit from being part of the Cabinet, maybe even within the Department of Transportation,\u201d but denied Duffy said he wanted to keep the NASA administrator job.<\/p>\n There is now competition as Jared Isaacman<\/a> \u2013 the Elon Musk associate whose nomination for the position was pulled by President Donald Trump earlier this year \u2013 has reemerged as a candidate for the top job at NASA.<\/p>\n The abrupt withdrawal of Isaacman<\/a> left a bad taste in the mouths of many within the White House, who pointed fingers at a top Trump aide for convincing the president that Isaacman\u2019s past Democratic donations disqualified him.<\/p>\n That frustration only grew when the decision appeared to ignite a messy monthslong feud between Trump and billionaire Musk.<\/p>\n Isaacman and Trump, however, reopened lines of communication over the summer, and it soon became clear to officials, including Duffy, that Isaacman was back in the mix to lead NASA.<\/p>\n Duffy, who has ruffled feathers within the White House for going directly to Trump, rather than through proper White House channels, suggested to the president that he be part of the hiring process for the NASA administrator role, a White House official said. A NASA spokesperson denied that account to CNN.<\/p>\n Duffy and several of his DOT advisers interviewed Isaacman on October 13 for the job. Duffy has conducted other interviews as well; however, in the eyes of White House officials, Isaacman has remained the front-runner.<\/p>\n \u201c(Trump) likes (Duffy). He\u2019s not going anywhere,\u201d a White House official said, while noting the public spectacle over the NASA job has been a headache for some administration officials. Another source said that the president was praising Duffy privately to advisers while traveling in Asia.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Duffy said the secretary has focused NASA \u201con one clear goal \u2014 making sure America gets back to the Moon before China.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe President asked him to talk with potential candidates for Administrator, and he\u2019s been happy to help by vetting people and giving his honest feedback,\u201d the spokesperson added in a statement. \u201cThe bottom line is that Secretary Duffy is here to serve the President, and he will support whomever the President nominates.\u201d<\/p>\n Isaacman has courted the president as well, making high-dollar donations and attending fundraisers at the White House as recently as this month, one source said. The Wall Street Journal first reported<\/a> on the jockeying for the top NASA post.<\/p>\n The internal battle came into the spotlight last week, as Musk got involved, publicly sparring with Duffy<\/a> about the future of NASA.<\/p>\n \u201cShould someone whose biggest claim to fame is climbing trees be running America\u2019s space program?\u201d Musk wrote on X. \u201cSean Dummy is trying to kill NASA!\u201d he said in another post.<\/p>\n