NASA reveals astronauts’ return 'would not have happened' without Trump’s intervention

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NASA spokesperson reveals key to expediting Trump’s ‘America First in Space’ agenda after stranded astronauts’ return

NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens championed the stranded astronauts’ return as a "huge win" and said getting President Donald Trump’s NASA administrator nominee Jared Isaacman approved is a crucial next step.

NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens credited President Donald Trump for securing the return of two astronauts stranded for more than nine months on the International Space Station.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Stevens said the mission to rescue astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams was a "huge win for the Trump administration." 

The success is just the beginning, she said, as Trump's nominee to become NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, looks to "Mars and beyond." 

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SpaceX and Polaris Mission Commander Jared Isaacman steps out of the manned Polaris Dawn mission's "Dragon" capsule after it splashed down off the coast of Dry Tortugas, Florida, on Sept. 15, 2024.? (Polaris Program/AFP via Getty Images)

"This is a huge win for the Trump administration. And it would not have happened without President Trump's intervention. Up next on the docket, to continue implementing President Trump's ambitious space agenda that he touted in his inaugural address is to confirm his nominee for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman," Stevens said. 

She highlighted that Isaacman "was the very first civilian to do a human spacewalk" and is a humanitarian who has worked extensively with St. Jude. Like Trump, Isaacman is an "outsider," she said. 

"President Trump was also once considered an outsider, and the American people have put him back into office, just showing how much they appreciate the business side that he brings to the table. And Mr. Isaacman also has a background as an entrepreneur of an extremely successful business," Stevens said. "I believe that he is well-suited, as do 30 astronauts who wrote in support of him and multiple GOP governors, that he is well suited to take the helm here at NASA and to implement the president's agenda."

Last Tuesday, Wilmore, 62, and Williams, 59, splashed down in the Gulf of America after Elon Musk’s SpaceX Dragon spacecraft arrived at the ISS just days before.

Stevens made clear that NASA is ready to "get the ball rolling" after their safe return to Earth, but noted their mission is set to launch in the heart of Washington, D.C.

NASA astronaut Suni Williams is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN after she and fellow NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov landed on the water on March 18, 2025, off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida. (Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images)

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Isaacman faces an upcoming Senate confirmation hearing as Trump looks to secure yet another nominee appointed to his administration. 

Earlier this month, eight Republican governors – Ron DeSantis, of Florida; Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas; Gregg Abbott of Texas; Bill Lee of Tennessee; Brian Kemp of Georgia; Mike Kehoe of Missouri; and Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma – wrote to Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas. They advocated for a "swift" confirmation, noting the Trump nominee’s "unparalleled ability to drive bold initiatives" and Isaacman’s understanding of "the complex landscape of modern space exploration."

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN after he and fellow NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov landed on the water on March 18, 2025, off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.? (Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images)

"I think that these governors are cognizant that the result of the November election was a mandate from the American people to implement change and to bring about change," Stevens told Fox News Digital. "And President Trump has been bringing about that change since day one. The next step here is to confirm Jared Isaacman expeditiously, so that we can get to work on the president's ambitious space agenda, as he touted in his inaugural address." 

"We were going to go to the moon and to Mars and beyond, and we have less than four years at this point to get through that considerably ambitious agenda," she said. "And we need to implement his leadership here at NASA in order to get the ball rolling there. So I think that's the next step towards being America First in Space."

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Fox News Digital also obtained an exclusive letter from Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, another Republican who joined her fellow state leaders in endorsing a speedy confirmation of the NASA administrator.