The Trump administration is illegally and secretly imposing drastic budget cuts on NASA in violation of spending levels approved by Congress, according to a new whistleblower report from Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington.
NASA’s climate research, which has tracked global warming threats to the planet for decades, is particularly vulnerable to the cuts as the White House has made it a priority to purge climate programs from the federal government.
The report — released Monday by Democrats on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee — claims it has “uncovered evidence of an illegal plot already in motion” at NASA.
It says White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought quietly directed NASA to implement severe budget cuts, even though the fiscal year 2025 budget approved by Congress did no such thing.
