Like its fellow federal agencies, NASA is facing a near-existential crisis as the Trump administration cuts the government's budget. The White House's proposed 2026 budget sees the space agency facing a 24% cut in funding, resulting in approximately 5,000 people being laid off. NASA employees are vehemently opposed to the agency's dismantling and sent a public letter to interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, the current Transportation Secretary and my unrequited nemesis.
The letter, titled "The Voyager Declaration," was published on Monday and laid out the destructive decisions that threaten to endanger lives and harm the public good. The White House has cancelled missions that Congress already appropriated funding for, indiscriminately cut scientific research funding, terminated existing contracts with private companies, and defunded DEI programs. The letter is presented as a "formal dissent," a NASA procedure for expressing concerns to superiors without fear of retribution. The policy was established to prevent the lapse in safety that caused the Challenger and Columbia disasters. However, I doubt the White House will obey agency guidelines and simply let the federal employee protest its decisions.
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The Voyager Declaration was signed by 287 current or former NASA employees. Despite the agency's official protections, 156 signatories decided to remain anonymous. The White House has instilled an atmosphere that anyone can face consequences for anything. One anonymous signatory told The New York Times:
"One of the messages that NASA management has been passing down to every employee is that no one is coming to save us, including Congress. So the Voyager Declaration is one effort to raise our voices and speak out to save ourselves."
Trump's vindictiveness is precisely why Duffy is currently sitting in the NASA Administrator's chair. Jared Isaacman had his nomination for NASA Administrator withdrawn due to a change of heart from Trump. The payment processing billionaire founded the world's largest private air force and also organized the Polaris program, his own private space program. SpaceX operated every Polaris mission. Trump stated the withdrawal was over Isaacman's donations to the Democratic Party, but the withdrawal coincided with his public split with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The President's legislative policy has shown that no casualty is high profile enough to stand in the way of a tax cut.
