The Apparatchik and the Astronaut
A MAGA operative with no space credentials is installed to guide a billionaire pilot through a gutted agency.
Before Jared Isaacman has even been confirmed as NASA administrator—a process expected to wrap on June 2 —his chief of staff has already been named. Not by Isaacman, it seems, but for him. The pick: Brian Hughes, a longtime Florida political operative with no aerospace experience, but a deep resumé in message control and managing the optics of power.
Hughes served as chief of staff to Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, a rare pro-Trump big city mayor. His role? Leading communications, shaping narrative, insulating leadership. Before that, he ran Meteoric Media Strategies, a PR firm, and now advises political clients through Zulu Foxtrot Group.
There’s nothing in Hughes’ background suggesting familiarity with the inner workings of NASA, aerospace governance, federal science funding, or research administration. But there’s plenty suggesting he knows how to manage a political frontman.
With Hughes installed early, a Trump loyalist is in a position to shape Isaacman’s introduction to NASA—deciding who gets in the room, what gets briefed, and which priorities rise to the surface. A Science Mission Directorate facing a 50% cut will be desperate for face time with the new administrator notable for his human spaceflight enthusiasm.
A Budget Written in Red
The Trump administration’s FY2026 budget ends Artemis after a single lunar landing, cancels the Gateway, and shifts billions toward a Mars push led by commercial partners—most notably the space company owned by erstwhile "First Buddy" Elon Musk who bankrolled Trump back into office and led the so-called Department of Government Efficiency's cost-cutting crusade with the finesse of a K-holed bull elephant in a baubles shop.
Under the budget proposal that will soon be Isaacman's to defend and implement, science missions are gutted, climate research is defunded, and international partnerships are left twisting.
That’s not to say the Space Curmudgeon will shed many tears for Artemis. The program was doomed the moment NASA bet on SLS, the costliest dead weight ever passed off as momentum. Still, there’s sympathy for the people inside—those making the most of compromised plans, solving hard problems (technical and political) in a demoralizing climate of ambient threat.
That’s not the NASA we were meant to have. Not the one built to stand a little apart from power, nearly seventy years ago, when that kind of distance was still regarded in Washington as a virtue.
Hughes may be entering the space agency, but he’s bringing gravity of a different kind.
Brian Hughes: Political Strategist Turned NASA Chief of Staff
Career Highlights:
• Political Consultant: Founder of Meteoric Media Strategies, specializing in public relations and strategic communications for political and corporate clients.
• Government Roles: Chief of staff and later chief administrative officer for Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry. Interim CEO of Jacksonville’s Downtown Investment Authority.
• GOP Credentials: Former deputy executive director of the Republican Party of Florida. Served under Governor Rick Scott.
Controversies:
• JEA Privatization: Hughes was central to the failed and secretive effort to sell Jacksonville’s public utility. The process collapsed under scrutiny, and JEA CEO Aaron Zahn was later indicted.
• Council Relations: In 2020, City Councilman Matt Carlucci called for Hughes’ resignation, citing concerns over his leadership style and approach to governance.
What kind of leadership does NASA need at a moment when its mission, funding, and future are all in flux?