Over 2,000 Senior-Level NASA Staff to Take White House Resignation Offer
The documents point to 2,145 forthcoming senior-level resignations as of July 9. A majority of those resignations are among employees at the GS-13 and GS-14 levels, which are reserved for technical experts and supervisory roles, while 875 are classified as GS-15, the federal government's highest General Schedule grade level.
Nearly 85% of those leaving are "serving in mission areas like science or human space flight, with the rest performing mission support roles like IT, facilities management, or finance," Politico noted. An additional 549 civil employees from lower grades are slated to take the Trump administration's early retirement and buyout offers, bringing NASA's total loss of staff up to 2,694.
President Donald Trump speaks to the press following the May 30, 2020 SpaceX Falcon 9 launch that would carry NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the ISS. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The cuts follow NASA's FY 2026 Budget Request, which it released in May. The request puts the agency's projected FY 2026 expenditure just shy of $18.9 billion—nearly a 24% drop from this fiscal year's expenditure of $24.8 billion, and enough to prompt all seven former NASA science chiefs to send a letter to Congress opposing the cuts.
Despite the slashed budget, the documents NASA sent to the White House insist that the Artemis program, Mars exploration, and "winning the second space race" are top priorities.
A NASA spokesperson was unable to confirm or deny the validity of the documents reviewed by Politico, but told ExtremeTech in an email that the deferred resignation program—which remains open to NASA employees through July 25—is a fully "voluntary opportunity."
"NASA remains committed to our mission as we work within a more prioritized budget," the spokesperson wrote. "We are working closely with the administration to ensure that America continues to lead the way in space exploration, advancing progress on key goals including the Moon and Mars."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump hopes China will quickly quadruple its US soybean orders
By Ella Cao, Lewis Jackson and Chandni Shah (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he hoped China would quadruple its soybean orders from the U.S, adding that it was also "a way of substantially reducing" Beijing's trade deficit with Washington. "China is worried about its shortage of soybeans. Our great farmers produce the most robust soybeans. I hope China will quickly quadruple its soybean orders. This is also a way of substantially reducing China's Trade Deficit with the USA. Rapid service will be provided. Thank you President XI," Trump said on Truth Social. A tariff truce between Beijing and Washington is set to expire on August 12, but the Trump administration has hinted that the deadline may be extended. China, which takes more than 60% of soybeans shipped worldwide, buys the oilseed mainly from Brazil and the United States. The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 2.13% at $10.08 a bushel at 0446 GMT, having been little changed before Trump's post. China imported roughly 105 million metric tons of soybeans last year, just under a quarter coming from the U.S. and the remainder from Brazil. Quadrupling shipments would require China to import the bulk of its soybeans from the U.S. "It's highly unlikely that China would ever buy four times its usual volume of soybeans from the U.S.," Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, said. It is unclear if securing China's agreement to buy more U.S. soybeans is a condition for extending the trade truce. China's Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The country has steadily reduced its reliance on U.S. soybeans in recent years, shifting more purchases to South America. Under the Phase One trade deal signed during Trump's first term, China agreed to boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans. However, Beijing ultimately fell far short of meeting those targets. This year, amid Washington–Beijing trade tensions, it has yet to buy any fourth quarter U.S. beans, fuelling concerns as the U.S. harvest export season approaches. "On Beijing's side, there have been quite a few signals that China is prepared to forego U.S. soybeans altogether this year, including booking those test cargoes of soymeal from Argentina," said Even Rogers Pay, an agricultural analyst at Trivium China. Reuters previously reported that Chinese feedmakers have purchased three Argentine soymeal cargoes as they aim to secure cheaper South American supplies amid concerns about a possible soybean supply disruption in the fourth quarter. U.S. soybean industry has been seeking alternative buyers, but no other country matches China's scale. Last year, China imported 22.13 million tons of soybeans from the U.S., and 74.65 million tons from Brazil. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
16 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Mark Cuban says the US has got to keep investing in research if it wants to have a chance of beating China at AI
"Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban says the US can beat China at AI if it continues "investing in research of all kinds as a country." "The IP we create domestically is what the frontier models can buy or invest in to define their differentiation and advance forward," Cuban wrote on X in response to a post by David Sacks, the White House's AI and crypto czar, on the state of the AI race. When asked about his X post, Cuban told Business Insider that American research is "important, not just because of the outcome of the research itself, but its value to American frontier AI models" like ChatGPT and Gemini. Cuban said that any unique intellectual property produced can be "licensed to the models, for a fee, to be included in their training." This would not only offset research costs but also make the models more valuable, he added. "The quality and depth of the research we do in this country can help us stay ahead of China and other countries in the AI race," Cuban told Business Insider. "We need our Ph.D.s, our scientists, our experts, to stay here and contribute to society, and their IP to make American AI models the global leaders," he added. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump's administration has been culling research grants for universities and research institutions like the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Please help BI improve our Business, Tech, and Innovation coverage by sharing a bit about your role — it will help us tailor content that matters most to people like you. What is your job title? (1 of 2) Entry level position Project manager Management Senior management Executive management Student Self-employed Retired Other Continue By providing this information, you agree that Business Insider may use this data to improve your site experience and for targeted advertising. By continuing you agree that you accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Researchers and scientists told Business Insider's Ayelet Sheffey in April that the cuts could stifle innovation and result in brain drain. "It absolutely endangers the United States' position as the global leader in medical research. And for that, we will pay," Peter Lurie, a recipient of an NIH grant terminated in March, told Sheffey. Staying ahead in the AI race has been a primary focus for the Trump administration, which unveiled its " AI Action Plan" last month. The 28-page plan calls for a light-touch approach to AI regulation compared to Trump's predecessor, President Joe Biden. In January, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek shocked the world with its high-performing but relatively cheap AI models. Trump said he viewed DeepSeek's accomplishment "as a positive, as an asset" for America. "The release of DeepSeek, AI from a Chinese company, should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win," Trump told GOP lawmakers in January.
Bloomberg
16 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Nvidia China Chip Payments, Tax Hike Hurts Jobs, Private Credit's Losers
Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes. On today's podcast: (1) Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices agreed to pay 15% of their revenues from Chinese AI chip sales to the US government in a deal to secure export licenses, an unusual arrangement that may unnerve both US companies and Beijing. (2) European nations are seeking to talk to Donald Trump ahead of the US president's planned meeting in Alaska with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to people familiar with the matter. (3) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan for a military sweep against the final Hamas strongholds in Gaza, calling it the best available option for recovering hostages while safeguarding his country's long-term security — an argument that's met vocal opposition at home and abroad. (4) It was a 'trailblazing' project - and for the two small pension funds that helped finance it, a chance to prop up the retirement savings of dentists and pharmacists in rural northern Germany. We look at Germany's biggest property crash since the financial crisis. (5) The UK jobs market weakened across the board in July as employers cut their payroll budgets in response to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves' £26 billion ($34.9 billion) tax increase, according to a survey closely monitored by the Bank of England. (6) European Central Bank officials will wait until December to deliver their next interest-rate cut in what is likely to be the final move in the cycle, a Bloomberg survey showed.
