“Although Congress has not completed the appropriations process for FY 2026, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has already disregarded Congress’s constitutional authority to direct government spending, unlawfully impounding congressionally appropriated NASA FY 2025 funds. Before Congress had approved a single appropriations bill, the Trump Administration and OMB Director Russell Vought directed federal agencies to freeze over $100 million in appropriated funds for science initiatives at NASA. Amidst the threat of looming cuts, NASA has already lost over 2,000 senior-level employees at NASA centers in Maryland, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Alabama, and Ohio. These losses will deprive NASA of key expertise on science, human space flight, and mission support. In blatant violation of law and complete disregard for the authority of Congress, the President’s budget request has already done significant damage to American space exploration and innovation.”
-A statement in an August 1, 2025 letter from six Democratic US Senators to the acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy pertaining to ongoing and planned cuts at the agency. The Senators requested responses to six questions, including “How does NASA intend to accomplish its mission of leading in space when the proposed funding cuts will gut world-renowned missions like Mar Sample Return (MSR) and trigger the mass layoff of employees with decades of institutional expertise and knowledge?” A good question.
Our Awesome Universe 