Less than 24 hours after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to slash the bloated federal bureaucracy and gut agencies, Politico reports that thousands of senior-ranking NASA employees are set to exit in a massive restructuring.
Politico cited internal documents showing that NASA plans to cut 2,694 staff members through a combination of early retirement offers, buyouts, and deferred resignations.
Key details from the report include:
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875 GS-15 employees, the agency’s most senior civil servants, are among those leaving.
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1,818 of the departing staff work in core mission roles; the remainder are in support functions, such as IT and finance.
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Departures are widespread, with Goddard Space Flight Center losing the most (607), followed by Johnson (366), Kennedy (311), and HQ (307).
“The departures follow a proposed White House budget for 2026 that would slash NASA’s funding by 25 percent and cut over 5,000 staff,” the report said, adding, “The cuts, if enacted by Congress, would force the agency to operate with the smallest budget and staff since the early 1960s.”
Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, told the left-leaning outlet, “You’re losing the managerial and core technical expertise of the agency.” He asked: “What’s the strategy and what do we hope to achieve here?”
The proposed large-scale reorganization and reduction comes a day after the Supreme Court announced President Trump can move ahead with plans to slash the federal workforce and dismantle federal agencies.
NASA’s role in America’s space program has taken a back seat as private companies—most notably Elon Musk’s SpaceX—have taken over the agency’s launch capabilities. With private-sector innovation and cost-efficiency leading the way, rocket launches and the broader space industry have become a new frontier for capitalism.
“NASA remains committed to our mission as we work within a more prioritized budget,” said NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens. “We are working closely with the Administration to ensure that America continues to lead the way in space exploration, advancing progress on key goals, including the Moon and Mars.”
The large-scale reorganization is fantastic news for America’s commercial space industry, aiming to drive innovation and ensure U.S. leadership in the space race through the 2030s.
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