U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., today released a report that quotes NASA whistleblowers as saying they’ve “already seen safety impacts” affecting the space agency, due to budget cuts that are canceling out previously appropriated funding.
One whistleblower is quoted as voicing concern “that we’re going to see an astronaut death within a few years” because of the Trump administration’s “chainsaw approach.”
“Like other premier science agencies, NASA has thrived on consistent, bipartisan investments, which are essential to America’s economic prosperity and technological supremacy. But today, NASA faces an existential threat under the Trump administration,” the report says.
In response to GeekWire’s inquiry, NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said that “this report is false.”
“The president’s budget request stands with Congress at this point, and NASA will enact the budget appropriated to us,” Kshatriya said in an emailed statement. (Full statement in the update at the end of this article.)
The report, titled “The Destruction of NASA’s Mission,” was prepared by Democratic staff members for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, where Cantwell serves as the ranking member.
It says the White House Office of Management and Budget directed NASA in early summer to begin implementing cutbacks called for in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year — even though those proposed cuts go far beyond what’s in effect for the fiscal year that’s about to end.
NASA’s current annual budget is $24.8 billion, but the proposed 2026 budget amounts to $18.8 billion, or nearly 25% less. In contrast, the budget bills being considered in the House and Senate would keep NASA spending relatively unchanged.
If Congress and the White House can’t agree on a stopgap spending plan in the next couple of days, the federal government would have to go into shutdown mode when the current fiscal year ends on Oct. 1. The likeliest endgame involves approving a continuing resolution, or CR, that would temporarily keep funding at current levels. But the Democratic staff report suggests that the White House plans to slash NASA’s budget nevertheless.
The report cites an internal agency note provided by a whistleblower that says: “If there is a CR, impoundment is likely going to get on the table as a mechanism to get to the PBR” — that is, the presidential budget request.
In the report, that move is characterized as part of an “illegal plot” that would ignore congressional funding levels. But it’s not clear how the courts would rule. Last week, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to withhold nearly $4 billion in previously appropriated foreign aid, at least temporarily, while the justices consider the constitutional questions.
The report also quotes whistleblowers as saying that internal dissent has been shut down. One whistleblower said NASA employees “have been told to get in line with the PBR or lose their job or position.”
The White House’s budget request would reduce spending on space science by 47%, which the nonprofit Planetary Society says would force “widespread terminations of functional missions worth billions of dollars.”
The Democratic staff report estimates that a reduction of $33 billion in non-defense federal spending in science, research and technology — including cuts suffered by NASA programs — would reduce U.S. economic output by $46.4 billion over the next 10 years. It projects that there’d be 866 fewer Ph.D. graduates in science, tech, engineering and math and 10,704 fewer researchers in the United States over the same time frame. “Loss of these high-impact researchers would constitute a major setback for U.S. R&D capacity and our ability to win the race on AI and other transformative frontier technologies,” the report said.
The continuing resolution proposed by Senate Democrats would, among other things, head off future efforts to rescind previously approved funding. But with the GOP in control of the House and the Senate as well as the White House, the prospects for such a measure are murky.
Update for 1 p.m. PT Oct. 1: NASA officials took issue with the claims made in the Democratic staff report. Here are the statements we received via email in response to our inquiry:
NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya: “This report is false. NASA has communicated openly and transparently with Congress that we continue to execute our available appropriated funding in accordance with established fiscal policies which respect congressional authorities. NASA will never compromise on safety. The president’s budget request stands with Congress at this point, and NASA will enact the budget appropriated to us.”
NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens: “The intentionally timed release of this inflammatory, false report is nothing more than a distraction tactic from Senate Democrats. As Democrats push to shut our government down, they’re attempting to divert attention. Meanwhile, Secretary [Sean] Duffy and the NASA delegation are in Sydney, Australia, advancing critical work to keep America first in space exploration.” (Sean Duffy is serving as NASA’s acting administrator as well as secretary of transportation.)
Meanwhile, NASA Watch reports that at least some of the funding cancellations based on the presidential budget request were rescinded before this week’s government shutdown. “Whether this actually comes to fruition – or if OMB efforts negate the impact – remains to be seen. But good news is better than bad news,” NASA Watch founder Keith Cowing wrote.
