Over 2,000 senior staff members reportedly set to leave NASA

More than 2,000 senior-level officials at the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are reportedly set to leave as part of a staff reduction effort, according to Politico news outlet on Wednesday citing documents obtained by the news outlet.

Most employees reportedly leaving are in GS-13 to GS-15 positions, senior-level government ranks, the report said, adding that the agency has offered staff early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations.

The agency’s spokesperson Bethany Stevens said in an emailed statement that “NASA remains committed to our mission as we work within a more prioritized budget.”

Under President Donald Trump’s administration, in recent months the U.S. space industry and NASA’s workforce of 18,000 have been whipsawed by looming layoffs and proposed budget cuts that would cancel dozens of science programs, while the U.S. space agency remains without a confirmed administrator.

The brain drain comes as the White House’s budget slashes the agency’s Fiscal Year 2026 funding to about half of its previous $7.33 billion allocation. The cuts come as President Donald Trump has led a push to reduce the federal budget and shrink the government’s workforce.

“Indiscriminately firing the next generation of NASA scientists, engineers and wider team members is exactly the wrong step to secure America’s leadership in space — just as competition with China is reaching fever pitch,” George Whitesides, NASA’s former Chief of Staff, said in a post on X reacting to layoffs in February.

“These employee terminations, like the layoffs of nuclear workers at the National Nuclear Security Administration, bird flu workers at USDA, wildfire GIS workers at the Forest Service, and weather forecasters at NOAA, will only make America weaker,” he added.

Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator, Musk ally and billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman, appeared to be an early casualty of Musk’s rift with the president when the White House abruptly removed him from consideration last month, denying Musk his pick to lead the space agency.