Trump added, Duffy will be a \u201cfantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/PTEZRKQTDJDTBON2YV7SM7KQEM.JPG\")
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is about to go on double duty. Anna Rose Layden\/REUTERS <\/p>\n
Duffy posted on X<\/a>, \u201cHonored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let\u2019s launch.\u201d<\/p>\n He will not be the only member of the Trump administration currently juggling double duties, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio also serving multiple roles including interim national security adviser and national archivist.<\/p>\n The announcement comes as Politico<\/a> reports NASA will lose at least 2,145 senior-ranking employees as part of a push to cut costs and shed staff. The mass exit would see decades of experience leave the space agency.<\/p>\n A White House budget for 2026 proposes to slash NASA funding by 25 percent. That would see NASA operate with the smallest budget and staff since the early 1960s.<\/p>\n Duffy clashed with Elon Musk in March, when the Transport Secretary claimed the DOGE team the Tesla CEO was then running was, \u201cwas trying to lay off air traffic controllers,\u201d in the wake of several plane crashes.<\/p>\n \u201cI have multiple plane crashes to deal with now, and your people want me to fire air traffic controllers?\u201d Duffy reportedly remarked<\/a>. Musk said the claims were a \u201clie\u201d and asked Duffy to \u201cGive me their names. Tell me their names.\u201d<\/p>\n The two also argued about Musk\u2019s satellite system Starlink in March, after it was suggested it could solve air traffic controller issues.<\/p>\n Duffy said Musk\u2019s technology was not the answer, but could be \u201cpart of the solution.\u201d Musk clapped back<\/a> on X, saying \u201cThe FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk,\u201d and that he provided Starlink terminals to FAA at no charge.<\/p>\n In his new role, Duffy will replace Janet Petro, the first woman to run NASA, who cut DEI programs at the space agency after taking over the reigns in January.<\/p>\n In May, Trump withdrew his nomination of tech billionaire and Shift4 founder Jared Isaacman to run NASA. Isaacman is a friend of Elon Musk, who has had a spectacular falling out with Trump this year.<\/p>\n At the time, White House spokesperson Liz Huston said, \u201cIt\u2019s essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump\u2019s America First agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this week in a Truth Social rant<\/a> about Musk, Trump gave more background surrounding his decision to pull a \u201cclose friend\u201d of Musk\u2019s from the race.<\/p>\n He said he the friend was \u201cvery good\u201d but was surprised to learn \u201che was a blue-blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump added, \u201cI also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon\u2019s corporate life. My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!\u201d<\/p>\n Duffy\u2019s new role follows a busy few months as the new Transportation Secretary, who has been haunted by ongoing chaos in U.S. air travel.<\/p>\n In May, he blamed repeated air traffic control outages<\/a> at Newark Liberty Airport on old technology and claimed, \u201cCongress and the country haven\u2019t paid attention to it.\u201d At the peak of the meltdown, Duffy posted on Instagram about having a home-cooked taco dinner with his wife, whose flight out of Newark<\/a> he admitted switching to LaGuardia.<\/p>\n![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/OCE72SRYKZAAXEDNRTQIJRSHXU.JPG\")
Jared Isaacman after accepting U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in April. Ken Cedeno\/REUTERS <\/p>\n![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/LIO7QPM6DBH2FLZ6G3THCZYK2A.JPG\")
Sean Duffy keeping his cool at the Congressional Picnic in June. Nathan Howard\/REUTERS <\/p>\n