Trump’s post did not clarify the status of Janet Petro, the director of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida who has been serving as NASA’s interim chief since the start of Trump’s second term.

Former Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy has been tapped by President Donald Trump to take the helm of NASA, the president announced this week.

Meanwhile, Duffy must navigate tensions between the White House budget, which would cut nearly a quarter of the agency’s funding, and the Senate’s version, which appears set to back an increase of NA...