President Donald Trump is withdrawing the nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, an associate of Elon Musk, to lead NASA, a person familiar with the decision said Saturday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly on the administration's personnel decisions. The White House and NASA did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

Trump announced last December during the presidential transition that he had chosen Isaacman to be the space agency's next administrator. Isaacman has been a close collaborator with Musk ever since he bought his first chartered flight on Musk's SpaceX in 2021.