The White House adviser who fueled the Trump-Musk NASA feud
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White House personnel director Sergio Gor, right, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent walk across the South Lawn in April. Photo: Bonnie Cash/UPI via Getty Images
Shortly after President Trump unexpectedly withdrew Elon Musk's pick to lead NASA last weekend, one name quickly surfaced as a major force behind the surprise decision: top White House aide Sergio Gor.
Why it matters: Trump acknowledged Thursday that canceling Jared Isaacman's NASA nomination had "upset" Musk, who's close to Isaacman. It was a factor, among many, that led to Thursday's shocking falling out between the president and his one-time "First Buddy," the world's richest person.
Musk spent the afternoon flaming Trump on X. It left presidential advisers stunned — and some of them angry at Gor, whose tense relationship with Musk was a backdrop to the controversy.
- Senate Republicans also blamed Gor for helping undermine the NASA nomination to settle a score with Musk, who had been critical of Gor's management of the White House personnel office.
- Gor declined to comment. But one senior White House official called Axios on Gor's behalf to praise his "brilliance, hard work and dedication."
Zoom in: Gor is one of the most influential Trump advisers in the White House, and co-founded Winning Team Publishing with Donald Trump Jr. The imprint publishes books by Trump and his allies, and put much-needed cash in Trump's pocket during his isolation after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
- Gor, a frequent presence at Mar-a-Lago, has a close relationship with former Marvel executive Ike Perlmutter, one of Trump's closest friends and a major donor.
- Gor was a top fundraising official on Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, and founded a pro-Trump super PAC during the 2024 campaign that spent nearly $72 million.
Zoom out: As the man in charge of vetting political appointees, Gor implemented loyalty tests to make sure new hires support Trump's agenda wholeheartedly — and that they haven't given to Democrats.
- Of all of Trump's picks, Isaacman — a wealthy entrepreneur — stood out for having contributed to Democrats during the last election cycle. Trump cited that Saturday when he withdrew Isaacman's nomination.
- Trump, however, had been made aware of Isaacman's donations months ago and said nothing.
- Now, the nation's space agency won't have a chief confirmed by the Senate for at least nine months, officials say.
Flashback: Musk and Gor had a tense relationship that surfaced in March during a heated Cabinet meeting in which Musk got into an argument with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, The New York Times reported at the time.
- Gor wasn't mentioned in the Times story, a conspicuous absence in the eyes of two senior administration officials who say Gor resented Musk's involvement in personnel matters.
- "Sergio let it be known he didn't like Musk's attitude ... and he didn't like getting called out [by Musk] in front of the Cabinet," said one White House official who attended the meeting.
The intrigue: In a Wednesday discussion on the "All-In Podcast," Isaacman said he believes his fate was linked to Musk's deteriorating standing in the White House and "an influential adviser coming in and saying [to Trump]: 'Look, here's the facts and I think we should kill this guy.'''
- "It's crazy," a Trump adviser involved in the NASA director process said. "Isaacman is eminently qualified. He's a billionaire. He has been to space. He was a Democrat — exactly the type of voter we want. And now look at it."
Gor has told others he wasn't responsible — and that GOP senators were, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which oversees NASA.
- Advisers in several GOP Senate offices involved in the nomination, including Cruz's, say they didn't know of any senators or staffers who opposed Isaacman.
Cruz, indeed, raised objections in December, when Musk persuaded Trump to nominate Isaacman to lead NASA. Cruz raised two issues then:
- Isaacman had contributed to Democrats opposing GOP senators Tim Sheehy of Montana and Bernie Moreno of Ohio last year.
- Isaacman, like Musk, wants NASA to focus on colonizing Mars, but Cruz is focused on moon exploration. The Texas senator wants to compete with the Chinese space efforts there — and keep the Johnson Space Center in Houston operational as mission control for the Artemis program.
Behind the scenes: Musk called Cruz when he heard of his objections. Isaacman then promised he would prioritize Artemis. Sheehy and Moreno said they had no problems with Isaacman.
- Cruz held a confirmation hearing on April 30 for Isaacman, whose nomination was approved by the committee 19-9.
- Three Senate sources and two White House insiders said they expected Isaacman to get 70 or 80 votes on the Senate floor, a rarity in the closely divided chamber.
- "I thought we were going to confirm him this week," Cruz told Axios. Asked if he had any input in scuttling Isaacman's confirmation, Cruz said: "That's not accurate."
Meanwhile, Gor "spun up the president by just constantly mentioning the donations," a Trump adviser said.
- On May 30, before a joint press conference with Musk to announce his departure from the White House — which appeared amicable at the time — Gor dropped off a background file on Isaacman with Trump at the Oval Office. Musk later entered the room and Trump asked him about Isaacman.
- "This guy gave to Democrats," Trump said to Musk, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
- "It's not like Elon really defended him. He said, 'He's really competent. But yeah, he gave to Democrats,'" the source said.
In a written statement, White House communications director Steven Cheung said Gor "is a vital member of the team and he has helped President Trump put together an administration that is second to none."
