WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald

Trump said on Tuesday he was nominating Jared Isaacman, the

private astronaut and ally of billionaire Elon Musk, for the

office of administrator of NASA.

Isaacman was removed from consideration to lead NASA earlier

this year amid a high-profile falling-out between Trump and

Musk. Sean Duffy, the head of the U.S. Department of

Transportation, was named acting NASA chief.

"This evening, I am pleased to nominate Jared Isaacman, an

accomplished business leader, philanthropist, pilot, and

astronaut, as Administrator of NASA," Trump said on social

media. The role requires confirmation by the Senate, where

Trump's Republican Party holds a 53-47 majority.

Last year, Trump, as president-elect, tapped Isaacman to

lead NASA at the recommendation of Musk, the SpaceX CEO who had

been an influential adviser to the president and sought to more

closely align the U.S. space program with his goal of flying

missions to Mars.

Isaacman, a billionaire who commanded the first civilian

space crew in 2021 aboard a SpaceX capsule, had spent months

navigating the

Senate confirmation process

, balancing the Trump administration's desire to focus on

Mars with NASA's multibillion-dollar strategy to return to the

moon first in a geopolitical race with

China

.

"Jared's passion for Space, astronaut experience, and

dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking

the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space

economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new

Era," Trump wrote in his post.

Isaacman founded the Shift4 Payments ( FOUR ) company as

a teenager.