WASHINGTON, DC (March 11, 2025) – Today, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics Ranking Member Valerie Foushee (NC-04), and Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight Ranking Member Emilia Sykes (OH-13) sent a letter to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration demanding that the agency disclose their reduction in force (RIF) plans with the Committee immediately. Per the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) February 26th memo, the Trump administration is requiring that all federal agencies develop reorganization plans by March 13, 2025.
“We write to you in advance of the March 13, 2025, deadline for Agency Reorganization Plans,” said the Members in the letter. “As leaders on the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, we are extremely concerned that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will seek to slash and burn core functions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to sacrifice the agency at the altar of their twisted idea of ‘efficiency.’ It is imperative that you stand up for NASA’s critical work and ensure that the Agency Reorganization Plan does not compromise the agency’s ability to carry out Congressionally authorized activities and advance our nation’s public safety, economic prosperity, and national security.”
The Members emphasize that any actions taken by agency leaders to comply with Co-Presidents Trump and Musk’s demands must preserve the critical functions of each agency. Failing to do so would be an illegal impoundment of taxpayer money intended to support federal science agencies’ important work.
“Congress appropriated NASA the money to pay staff and fulfill its legal obligations. Firing employees and diminishing your agency past the point where it can function does not deliver money back to the taxpayer; it violates the laws enacted by representatives elected by the American people, and it violates the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. President Trump and Elon Musk are lying to the American people when they claim that terminations, cuts, and cancellations will put more money in Americans’ pockets.”
Letters to each agency can be found here.