1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

OMB is directing an “incision” at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)—essentially reassigning civil servants from projects marked for cancellation in Trump’s FY26 budget request. These actions are often being implemented with near-immediate effect. This will halt work on several missions that Congress appears likely to continue funding despite Trump’s budget request. As of last week, branch managers at GSFC have begun reassigning personnel in what has become a confused and chaotic effort to comply with directives handed down from NASA Headquarters, which are themselves being driven by OMB. There is no formal ramp down plan, nor any contingency for restoring civil servants should Congress, as expected, continue their funding. The result is an irregular and potentially unlawful maneuver that appears intended to circumvent Congressional authority, undermine the appropriations process, and trigger a premature dismantling of mission-critical programs through reassignments, contract terminations, and attrition via early retirement and workforce reductions. At the center of this effort is Russ Vought, the current head of OMB and a key architect of Project 2025. His stated goal is to implement a broad agenda aimed at crippling many areas of the federal government. Without immediate intervention by Congress, and potentially the courts, the damage to NASA’s institutional knowledge and technical capability could be irreversible. The absence of a capable and empowered NASA Administrator, a new Acting GSFC Center Director, or a confirmed NASA Inspector General to challenge these legally questionable directives appears intentional. If these extreme and illegal actions proceed unchecked over the next 60 days, NASA as we know it will suffer a crippling blow. Please use your oversight authority to reign in OMB and demand answers from the Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy.