Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is taking over NASA as interim administrator, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday.

Trump announced Duffy’s new role in a post on Truth Social. Who will lead the federal space agency has been an open question since the president pulled the nomination of his first pick, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, last month.

“I am pleased to announce that I am directing our GREAT Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to be Interim Administrator of NASA,” said Trump.

“Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again,” he continued. “He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time. Congratulations, and thank you, Sean!”

The White House pulled Isaacman’s nomination on June 1. Isaacman, who is a private astronaut and has led missions to space, was pushed by Elon Musk to head the space agency before Musk and Trump’s relationship ruptured over the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” and other issues.

On Sunday, Trump said he decided to pull Isaacman’s nomination to lead the space agency after the president learned that Isaacman was “a blue blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before.”

“I 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’s corporate life,” said Trump in a post on Truth Social. “My Number One charge is to protect the American Public!”

Isaacman pushed back against Trump’s assertions in a post on X: “I have been relatively apolitical — a right-leaning moderate — and my political donations across both parties (though 10x more to Republicans) were disclosed in writing, with rationale, before my nomination was ever submitted to the Senate.”

Isaacman said of his and Musk’s relationship that the two men have only known each other “professionally, but having flown to space twice on SpaceX rockets, I have a firsthand appreciation for what he and his companies have accomplished.”

After Isaacman’s nomination was pulled, Musk responded in a post on X that “It is rare to find someone so competent and good-hearted.”

The man behind a popular pro-Trump X account effectively had his conviction tossed on Wednesday, after the Biden-era Department of Justice was ready to imprison him for memes that mocked Hillary Clinton voters during the 2016 presidential election.

Douglass Mackey, who was charged by the Biden DOJ some four years after posting the memes in question, was facing a stunning 10 years behind bars. After the DOJ secured a conviction, Mackey was sentenced to seven months behind bars in 2023, but the sentence was delayed by an appeals court.

On Wednesday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reversed Mackey’s conviction and directed a lower court to enter a judgment of acquittal.

DOUG MACKEY WINS !! MEME MAGIC HAS EMERGED COMPLETELY VICTORIOUS !! pic.twitter.com/hyJFw5rQxe

— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) July 9, 2025

“The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out my conviction for lack of evidence the case has been remanded to the district court with orders to immediately dismiss,” Mackey posted to X. “Hallelujah!”

BREAKING: THE SECOND CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS HAS THROWN OUT MY CONVICTION FOR LACK OF EVIDENCE

THE CASE HAS BEEN REMANDED TO THE DISTRICT COURT WITH ORDERS TO IMMEDIATELY DISMISS

HALLELUJAH!

— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) July 9, 2025

As reported by The Daily Wire, Mackey, who went by the Twitter (now X) alias Ricky Vaughn, was charged about a week after President Joe Biden took office — some four years after the memes were posted. While the DOJ claimed Mackey conspired to “injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate” people from exercising their constitutional right to vote, his legal team, other legal minds, and many politicos said the memes were obviously protected free speech.

The meme the prosecution zeroed in on was published on November 1, 2016. It shows a woman holding an “African Americans for President Hillary” sign with overlaid text reading, “Avoid the line. Vote from home. Text ‘Hillary’ to 55925.”

Screenshot: Twitter

Mackey has the support of President Donald Trump, and others in his orbit, including Donald Trump Jr., but said after Trump won the 2024 election that he would not ask Trump for a pardon, since he was anticipating a good result on appeal.

“Since so many are asking, my team and I have not asked President Trump for a pardon at this time as we are hoping for a favorable, precedent-setting ruling in the 2nd Circuit that would prevent the DOJ from politically weaponizing the law,” he said at the time. 

Since so many are asking, my team and I have not asked President Trump for a pardon at this time as we are hoping for a favorable, precedent-setting ruling in the 2nd Circuit that would prevent the DOJ from politically weaponizing the law.

Thank you everybody for your support!

— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) January 21, 2025

Mackey also posted on X, “Now we sue,” suggesting a coming suit against the federal government.

Now we sue

— Douglass Mackey (@DougMackeyCase) July 9, 2025

Related: Biden DOJ Trying To Lock Up A Pro-Trump Meme Maker For Ten Years. Here’s What You Need To Know.