With a government shutdown looming, Senate Democrats claim NASA is taking steps to implement the Trump administration’s budget proposal before Congress acts on appropriations bills. The preemptive cuts are part of “an illegal plot” to gut the agency, they say.
“The Destruction of NASA’s Mission,” a report released Monday by the Democratic staff of the Senate Commerce Committee, alleges that the White House budget office has been pushing NASA to carry out the “devastating” cuts outlined in the 2026 budget proposal for months. The report cites evidence gleaned from whistleblower documents and interviews to argue that the budget office and NASA are acting in clear violation of the Constitution.
“While this report documents the illegal destruction happening at NASA, there can be no doubt the Trump Administration is trying to execute similar plans at agencies across the federal government,” the report states.
“If it’s not in the PBR, it does not count”
Trump’s budget request for fiscal year 2026, presented in May, sought to slash NASA’s overall budget by nearly a quarter, its workforce by nearly a third, and its science funding by nearly half. The proposed cuts threaten to axe some of NASA’s most ambitious missions, including the Mars Sample Return, the New Horizons deep space mission, and the Jupiter-orbiting Juno probe.
While pending congressional appropriations bills largely oppose these cuts, the report finds evidence to suggest that NASA began implementing certain “institutional changes” to align with Trump’s proposed budget as early as June 2025. The agency’s Chief of Staff, Brian Hughes, has made it clear to NASA employees that “they are doing the [President’s budget request]” and “if it’s not in the PBR, it does not count,” according to the report.
The report also references comments Hughes made at an agency town hall in June, during which he attempted to justify carrying out the 2026 request even if the fiscal year starts under a continuing resolution at 2025 funding levels. “If we were to wait for all of the congressional process to unfold and get to final resolution to make any movements or do anything, it would probably be considered irresponsible,” he said.
The White House budget office has kept these actions quiet, according to the report. One NASA whistleblower told the committee’s Democratic staff, “It’s all under wraps. They’re not doing town halls anymore. Nothing is written down,” while another emphasized that “all avenues of communication have been shut down” and they are “not allowed to ask questions.”
A “culture of fear” at NASA
Over the last several months, the agency has lost nearly 4,000 employees through the Trump administration’s buyouts, reducing NASA’s workforce by roughly 20%. On top of proposed budget cuts, these voluntary departures created “a culture shift where employees are reluctant to make leadership aware of safety and security issues,” the report argues.
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