Duffy, also the Transportation Secretary, has no space background, but has been an MTV reality star and a congressman.

NASA's leadership change comes at a pivotal moment for the agency, which is already bracing for potentially severe funding cuts.

Donald Trump has assigned Transport Secretary Sean Duffy a second job as interim caretaker of NASA after the president dumped his original choice to lead the space agency. Duffy has been locked in a war of words this year with Trump’s former space buddy,