Latest news with #DeferredResignationProgram
Politico
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Politico
A tale of two swing districts
Good Friday morning! In Central Jersey's 7th District, where Democrats hope to oust Republican Tom Kean Jr., eight candidates have filed with the Federal Election Commission, and more are probably on the way. The latest is Valentina Mendoza, a lawyer from Rahway who says she can stick out in a field of mostly conventional candidates. Mendoza, who's transgender, described herself as 'somebody who can speak towards the challenges that people can face, the multiple intersectional identities that I represent.' 'I can make policy from somebody who has lived those consequences — not only survived them but thrived,' she said. And I was saving this for today, but David Wildstein beat me to the punch: Megan O'Rourke, a former USDA climate scientist in the Biden administration, has recently met with Democratic operatives and leaders about potentially running. O'Rourke wrote on LinkedIn a couple months ago that her job duties under the Trump administration had been 'stripped away one by one until I had no work left to do' and that she ultimately decided to take the Deferred Resignation Program. While I've heard one operative describe O'Rourke's entrance as very likely, when I checked earlier this week, not all of the district's county chairs had heard from her. She didn't respond to a LinkedIn message I sent her Monday morning. See here for the list of candidates so far and how much they've raised. Further north in the 9th District, Republicans have been making a lot of noise about the Hispanic rightward shift in the 2024 election. There, Donald Trump carried the heavily Hispanic district, and freshman Democrat Nellie Pou beat three-time Republican candidate Billy Prempeh by just 4 points. Kean won reelection by a larger margin in the 7th. But so far, aside from Prempeh, just one other candidate has emerged: Clifton Councilmember Rosemary Pino. Prempeh — who has a significant online following despite his struggles to raise money — hit her with pretty devastating criticism about a group she led endorsing Pou just last year. So what should we make of this? Noting the crowded Democratic field in the 7th, National Republican Congressional Committee Executive Director Jack Pandal said: 'Dem recruitment in absolute shambles.' And it does look like a potentially messy primary. But the number of candidates running so far in the Democratic-held swing district could also be read as a measure of enthusiasm, especially compared to the 9th District. Several of these candidates have already demonstrated an ability to raise a lot of money. In 2018, the last congressional Democratic wave election, seven Democrats initially ran in the 7th, with four dropping out before the primary. The Democratic nominee, Tom Malinowski, defeated decade-long incumbent Leonard Lance, serving two terms before Kean ousted him in 2022. FEEDBACK? Reach me at mfriedman@ SHOW ME THE WAY: Acting Gov. Tahesha Way is in Sea Girt at 10 a.m. for the New Jersey State Police Youth Week graduation ceremony QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'Maybe he doesn't agree with your standards because he knows that you're a snake.' — Toms River Councilmember Tom Nivison to Mayor Dan Rodrick, while arguing about new police hiring standards HAPPY BIRTHDAY — John Amodeo, Jenna Mellor, Michael Suleiman. Saturday for Paul Kanitra, Bill Pascrell III, Bridget Palmer, Michael Dressler, Angel Fuentes, Janice Kovach, Kaylee McGuire. Sunday for Brian McDonough, Marc Pfeiffer, Peggy Ackermann, Chris Brown, Julia Fah WHAT TRENTON MADE FROM A KINK TO THE CLINK — 'Sex, greed & fraud: He stole $5 million to pay for sex. It could cost him his life,' by NJ Advance Media's Karin Price Mueller: '[Harry] Pizutelli had faced physical challenges all his life. Spina bifida was supposed to kill him by age 16. The leg braces he uses to hurl his five-foot frame around are uncomfortable, but allow him to walk … But there was one thing Pizutelli couldn't get over: His sex life was practically nonexistent … So he called the massage parlor and set up what would become the first of many trysts, the starting point for a toxic relationship that would last 10 years and cost the state of New Jersey nearly $5 million. Pizutelli stole millions from a government fund that helps victims of traumatic brain injury. The state worker funneled it to the masseuse he met that day in 2005, to her close friend and to six other women Pizutelli hired for sex acts. He doesn't deny any of it. But this wasn't a typical sex-for-money racket. It's the story of a man desperate for physical intimacy who followed his lust into a criminal spiderweb. The story of a man who made one fateful decision that snowballed into a series of disastrous choices that forever changed his life. And the story of a man with physical limitations who stole from others with limitations to pay for illicit sex.' HOW DOES IT FEEL? — 'A lesson in labor from Wayne DeAngelo: 'If you don't like it, leave,'' by InsiderNJ's Max Pizarro: 'Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo of Mercer County, lawmaker and labor leader … wants the next governor to not just support project labor agreements (PLAs) but to be the state's strongest public bulwark against corporations that would try to locate here without employing Building Trades labor. New Jersey has considerable problems, including energy deficits produced in part by a wind initiative that went bust because of politics, a federal budget that disincentivizes solar and renewable energy, and the expansion of population and artificial intelligence putting tremendous demands on the grid. But none of those problems can be fixed without the simultaneous support for labor coming out of Drumthwacket, DeAngelo maintains — and the future of labor in the form of public incentivizing real trades opportunities for New Jersey youth … Democrat DeAngelo, for his part, is aware of the erosion of support by rank-and-file labor workers for the Democratic Party, even though President Joe Biden prioritized projects like the Gateway Tunnel, which former Republican Governor Chris Christie killed. Biden was a good president for labor, the assemblyman acknowledges, and specifically to the trades. 'But as a blue-collar person and as a person who goes door to door and talks to people, I recognize that a lot of people — most, in fact, are exhausted and they don't know the name of their local councilman or county executive or what they do. They don't know what the president is doing, in many cases. Unfortunately, within that environment, Biden, during the second half of his presidency, was not the same guy.'' — 'Driver charged with vehicular homicide in crash that killed N.J. governor's staffer, prosecutor says' — 'Victims of sex abuse in New Jersey's juvenile lockups demand justice' — 'Solid year for NJ state pension fund despite market volatility' — 'Sherrill: New Jersey's transit systems aren't working. I'll change that' — 'Ciattarelli: Transportation is too expensive in NJ. We must fix it' — 'NJ launches rape kit tracking system for sexual assault survivors' TRUMP ERA ETERNAL U.S. ATTORNEY ALINA HABBA ANNOUNCES INVESTIGATION INTO FDU — Trump 18 points underwater in New Jersey, poll finds, by POLITICO's Matt Friedman: Despite a closer-than-expected margin in New Jersey last year, New Jersey voters have soured on President Donald Trump, according to poll numbers released Thursday. Thirty-seven percent of likely voters surveyed by Fairleigh Dickinson University said they approve of Trump's job performance, while 55 percent disapprove. The numbers could be sobering for Republicans who saw Trump's relatively narrow 6-point loss of New Jersey in November as a sign that the state could be trending red thanks to the president's inroads with the state's Hispanic communities, and whose hopes were further buoyed by a recent poll that showed voters there split evenly on the president … 'Last year's Presidential election was much closer than anyone was expecting in New Jersey,' said Dan Cassino, executive director of the FDU poll. 'But if Trump had the opportunity to turn that into lasting support in the state, it seems to be gone now.' HABBA — Criminal defendant challenging Alina Habba's appointment takes a page from Aileen Cannon's playbook, by POLITICO's Ry Rivard and Kyle Cheney: A criminal defendant seeking to torpedo President Donald Trump's top federal prosecutor in New Jersey is drawing inspiration from an unusual source: U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon. The defendant, Julien Giraud Jr., argues that the Trump appointee's bombshell ruling last summer dismissing a federal criminal case against Trump by finding that special counsel Jack Smith's appointment was unconstitutional applies equally to Trump's temporary U.S. attorney pick, Alina Habba. Giraud's attorney Thomas Mirigliano says the workaround Trump used to keep Habba in place after a 120-day interim appointment expired directly conflicts with Cannon's ruling. 'As Judge Cannon explained in Trump, when executive officials deliberately engineer an appointment in violation of statutory and constitutional mandates, the only effective remedy is dismissal or, at the very least, disqualification of the unconstitutionally appointed officer and her subordinates,' Mirigliano wrote in a filing Wednesday. Mirigliano's bid is a long shot, meant to spare his client from further prosecution for gun and drug crimes that were brought by a grand jury and filed in 2024 when there was no uncertainty about the leadership of the U.S. attorney's office. But it's one of the first efforts to turn Cannon's ruling against the Trump administration's interests. NADONE — A federal judge on Thursday rejected a long shot attempt by the wife of former Sen. Bob Menendez to have all the corruption convictions against her thrown out. In a 51-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein said Nadine Menendez 'failed to identify any injustice — let alone a manifest injustice — requiring a new trial.' He did, however, toss one count he found duplicative. Nadine Menendez, who was found guilty in a trial separate from her husband, is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 11. Bob Menendez and a pair of businesspeople accused of bribing the couple are all in prison and each is appealing their Menendez is also planning an appeal. She is expected to argue that she was denied the ability to pick who represented her in court because prosecutors had discussed calling her previous attorneys from Schertler Onorato as part of their obstruction of justice charges, but ultimately the attorneys were never called. 'The government violated Mrs. Menendez's fundamental constitutional right to counsel, and we are confident that the Second Circuit will engage with this issue,' her attorney, Sarah Krissoff of Cozen O'Connor, said in a statement. — Ry Rivard — 'Vote on blocking weapons for Israel divides New Jersey's senators' — 'Trump moves to ensure no new offshore wind projects get proposed for years to come' LOCAL MODELO CITIZENS — 'N.J. town threatened to revoke housing for non-citizens, former employee's lawsuit says,' by NJ Advance Media's Anthony G. Attrino: 'Elected officials in a Monmouth County town have tried to require renters to submit proof of U.S. citizenship or face removal from their homes, a lawsuit filed by the former township manager alleges. Joseph Clark, who served as Howell Township manager for two years, claims in court papers Mayor John Leggio and Councilman Ian Nadel proposed ordinances and directives that were racist and illegal. One directive included identifying migrants who entered the country illegally, and revoking the certificates of occupancy for their rentals, Clark alleges in a lawsuit filed in Monmouth County Superior Court. The lawsuit claims officials encouraged racial profiling, such as monitoring recycling bins for Modelo beer bottles as a way to identify undocumented residents. … When Clark, the deputy town manager, and other officials objected to the allegedly discriminatory behavior, they were retaliated against, the lawsuit claims.' MONTCLAIR PEOPLE'S COMMISSARIAT FOR EDUCATION TO DEVELOP FIVE-YEAR DEBT PLAN — 'Montclair public schools reveal $11 million deficit',' by Montclair Local's Matt Kadosh and Asad Jung: 'The Montclair Public Schools face an $11 million deficit, school officials said on Wednesday as residents called for a forensic audit of the district's finances. Superintendent Ruth B. Turner and Interim School Business Administrator Dana Sullivan, both of whom started with the district July 1, detailed the shortfall during a community meeting at Glenfield Middle School. The district must develop a corrective action plan and submit it to the state Department of Education, the officials said … Sullivan said that she found 70 pages of outstanding purchase orders when she began as the district's interim business administrator this month. Sullivan said she has also received many emails from vendors and staff members about unpaid bills.' WILDWOOD DUNE: WATCH THE SANDWORM, PLEASE — 'Army Corps threatens to pull funding for Wildwoods beach project,' by The Press of Atlantic City's Bill Barlow: 'The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has threatened to pull $54 million for a long-planned beach and dune project for the Wildwoods … The project has been in the works for more than a decade and calls for beaches in North Wildwood to be rebuilt, and a continuous dune line built the length of the barrier island's beaches. The Army Corps and the DEP enacted an agreement in 2017. But local skepticism has grown, with officials in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest balking as the scope of the project became clearer. Those communities have extremely wide beaches, which would be the source of the sand for both the new dunes and for the wider beach in North Wildwood. It is up to the DEP to acquire the easements along privately owned beaches for the project to move forward. So far, that process appears to be moving slowly, according to previous comments from the DEP and the Army Corps. The Army Corps appears to have lost patience.' A NIGHT AT THE OPMA — 'Judge voids suspension of Washington Township school superintendent,' by The Philadelphia Inquirer's Melanie Burney: 'A judge has struck down the suspension of Washington Township School Superintendent Eric Hibbs, ruling that the school board voted improperly when it placed the South Jersey schools chief on paid leave. In a one-page order released Thursday, Superior Court Judge Benjamin C. Telsey said the board violated the Open Public Meetings Act at its March 18 meeting when it suspended Hibbs. As a result, a resolution to suspend Hibbs is void, the judge said. It was not immediately clear what the decision would mean for Hibbs and the district, which has been in upheaval.' — 'NJ homeless count shows 84% surge in number of unsheltered people in Paterson' — 'N.J. dad convicted in hot car death of infant daughter avoids prison' EVERYTHING ELSE GAMMIBALIZATION — 'Bally's bid for a New York City casino is alive again after Mayor Adams intervenes,' by The Press of Atlantic City's Wayne Parry: 'A bid by Bally's Corp. to open a casino in New York City is back in the game after Mayor Eric Adams intervened on its behalf. Adams on Wednesday vetoed a move by the New York City Council that denied Bally's the zoning changes it needs to build a casino resort on 16 acres of parking lots and practice greens adjacent to a golf course in the Bronx … Bally's is one of four companies seeking a New York casino that also have existing casinos in Atlantic City. The company has said it is committed to keeping Bally's Atlantic City open regardless of what happens with its New York proposal.' — 'As horse racing fades, Meadowlands Racetrack faces a crossroads: Is a casino the answer?' — 'Here are contract details for Rutgers AD Keli Zinn, who is betting on herself'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'NASA is under attack.' Space agency employees and lawmakers protest mass layoffs, science cuts amid budget turmoil
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. WASHINGTON — NASA scientists and engineers are demanding Congress help turn down the heat on an agency whose current leadership, they say, is burning down American dominance in space and science. A group of NASA employees, contractors, their families, friends and other supporters gathered across from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on July 20 — the anniversary of humanity's historic first landing on the moon. Nearly 100 showed up Sunday to protest deep budget cuts and mass layoffs within the nation's space agency, and to urge Congress to take expedient action to reverse or minimize further losses. "We are here because NASA is under attack," said one of the protest's organizers, NASA contract employee Marshall Finch. "And we are its defense." Just days earlier, lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space, and Technology published a scathing letter to interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, accusing agency leadership of acting outside its legal authority by enacting extensive cuts before a final budget is passed. Budget cuts Protesters, including the ad hoc organizing group called NASA Needs Help, gathered to sound the alarm over what they view as broad, preemptive overcompliance with President Donald Trump's 2026 budget proposal, which slashes NASA's science portfolio by roughly 50% — a cut that would cancel more than 40 current and upcoming space missions. While the budget proposal continues to make its way through Congress, NASA officials at the very top of agency leadership seem to have already begun implementing cuts, notifying employees and contractors of impending reductions in force (RIFs) and encouraging people to take advantage of the government's Deferred Resignation Program (DRP). "They are telling everybody below them to take the Deferred Resignation Program now. To jump ship," said Finch. "This is going to weaken NASA, and it's going to weaken the United States." Congressional response Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-California) and Valerie Foushee (D-North Carolina) of the House Science Committee sent a letter to interim Administrator Duffy on July 16 in which they, too, expressed concern that the agency was treating Trump's budget request as enacted law. "It now appears that the agency intends to implement funding cuts that were never enacted by Congress in order to 'align' the agency's present-day budget with the Trump Administration's slash-and-burn proposed budget for the next fiscal year, with seemingly no concern for the devastation that will be caused by mass layoffs, widespread program terminations and the possible closure of critical centers and facilities," the letter stated. "A presidential budget request is just that: a request to Congress," Lofgren and Foushee wrote in the letter. "The notion that any executive branch agency would unilaterally take steps to implement a budget proposal before its budget is enacted by Congress is therefore offensive to our constitutional system. It would be illegal." NASA is opting to keep the political back-and-forth between the agency and lawmakers, for the time being. "NASA will handle legislative matters and letters from elected officials directly with the addressing parties," NASA officials told in an emailed statement on July 23. The space agency disputed one of the lawmakers' claims — specifically, that NASA leadership had directed at-risk programs to cease public communications regarding mission accomplishments. "The statement from House Democrats in their letter to Secretary Duffy, alleging that 'NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes appears to have recently ordered scientific missions slated for termination in the FY26 PBR [fiscal year 2026 presidential budget request] to stop issuing press releases celebrating new results and scientific achievements,' is unsubstantiated and untrue," NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens told "This is false and it is not the policy." NASA officials did not comment on other assertions made in the letter. Protesters at the July 20 demonstration, which coincided with the 54th anniversary of NASA's Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, echoed Lofgren and Foushee's concern. They worried that by the time Congress acts, the damage to NASA may be irreversible. Congress is pushing back on the proposed cuts, with the Senate Appropriations Committee advancing a measure to fund NASA at a level comparable to fiscal year 2025, and there is apparent bipartisan support for maintaining the space agency's science programs. But many who showed up at the demonstration worried that lawmakers' actions may come too late. "Congress says they want to save NASA," Finch said. "Let's see them do it now … Let's see them fight." Growing fear Meanwhile, protesters described a rising sense of fear and uncertainty within NASA. Many said they feel demoralized by mounting pressure to leave under the DRP and the abrupt departures of their colleagues who already have. As they watch many of their coworkers resign, protesters worry that critical institutional knowledge is leaving with them. Julie, who, like other protesters interviewed by asked that her full name be omitted, also helped organize the demonstration. She thinks these personnel losses could have deeper implications, and used NASA's Office of the Chief Knowledge Officer as an example. "That was set up after [the] Columbia and Challenger [space shuttle disasters] to make sure that we were passing any lessons learned on to the entire community," Julie explained. "Watching all of this brain drain leave without any kind of backup plan at all, any kind of structure, has been just the most depressing thing. I can kind of see another Challenger, another Columbia happening down the road as a result of this, and it will ultimately be blamed back on us," she told "That knowledge isn't being passed on in any way. So we're going to see the effects of that sooner rather than later," Julie added. She was one of several protest attendees who voiced such sentiments, warning of potential disaster on par with the space shuttle accidents. The droves of departures at NASA have also fueled some of the urgency that motivated many to attend the weekend's demonstration. "It's been the hardest to watch all that knowledge slip away," Julie said. "And that really kind of emboldens people to take a little bit of extra risk to come out with something like this on the weekend." Every protester who spoke at the demonstration, and with on Sunday stressed that their actions and remarks were not representative of NASA or their respective contract employers. Even the planning for the July 20 event was carefully and purposefully done outside employees' working hours, organizers said. "A lot of people here, I think, are pretty scared of any blowback on them at work," another protester, Will, told Will indicated that he previously worked for NASA, or a NASA contractor, but that is no longer the case. The internal climate at the space agency has undergone a dramatic shift this year, with a sense of suspicion guarding people's interactions. "There's a little bit more distrust than there was before, even within the community," Julie said. The majority of protesters in attendance Sunday work at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Goddard is one of two space agency facilities in the D.C. area, the other being NASA Headquarters. NASA Needs Help organizers held their first protest outside the agency's headquarters on June 30. Uneasiness within the space agency is particularly evident at Goddard. Approximately 10,000 employees work at the Maryland facility, either through contractors or for NASA directly. In addition to program and workforce cuts in the White House budget proposal, "passback" documents sent to the space agency in April also suggest shuttering Goddard completely. "Our management, our administration, is doing everything they can to break our will, to make us give up, to make us go do other things," decried one NASA engineer, who asked to remain anonymous, during the protest. "I'm here today because I fear for our astronauts' lives as we lose more and more expertise, and the technical expertise that we need to send them safely on their mission," she said. "Normally, supervisors say, 'Stay, we need you. You're an expert in your field. We want you to stay.' But right now, the civil servants at the top — that is people like Brian Hughes, like Goddard Center [Director] Mackenzie Lystrup, many more names, they are telling everybody below them to take the Deferred Resignation Program now," Finch told demonstrators. NASA leadership After nearly half a year of warnings about impending RIFs, some in management positions are beginning to take their own advice. According to a Politico report, over 2,000 senior leadership staff are expected to resign from the space agency to take advantage of the DRP initiatives. That includes aforementioned Goddard Center Director Mackenzie Lystrup. One day after NASA employees held their protest, Lystrup announced her resignation. Her abrupt departure intensifies concerns about the state of NASA's leadership, which currently seems more disjointed than ever. This could be seen during an Artemis Accords ceremony on Thursday (July 24), at which the ambassador of Senegal and other Senegalese officials added their signatures to the growing list of countries committed to the safe, collaborative exploration of the moon and deep space. Absent from those proceedings was interim NASA Administrator Duffy. Duffy was unexpectedly appointed to the post on July 9 through an announcement by Trump on his Truth Social platform. Duffy, who already serves as Secretary of Transportation, is now wearing both hats. Since his appointment, he has made no public remarks about his NASA role other than a small handful of supportive posts to a newly-created X account focused on his position at the space agency. Prior to 2025, many Artemis Accord signing ceremonies included past NASA Administrators Bill Nelson or Jim Bridenstine. Rather than Duffy, NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes oversaw Senegal's signing on Thursday. Also not in apparent attendance were Acting NASA Associate Administrator Vanessa Wyche and NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails, both of whom, like Duffy, sit above Hughes in the NASA leadership hierarchy. Duffy did offer a retweet of NASA's post on X about the event. Voyager Declaration Circulating amongst NASA employees in the background leading up to the July 20 demonstration, another letter to Duffy communicated a similar message as that from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The Voyager Declaration was published July 21 as a formal statement protesting the proposed science cuts and preemptive actions already enacted by NASA leadership. The letter was signed by nearly 300 current and former NASA employees, 150 of whom chose to do so anonymously, "due to the culture of fear of retaliation cultivated by this administration," the letter states. "Major programmatic shifts at NASA must be implemented strategically so that risks are managed carefully," it states. "Instead, the last six months have seen rapid and wasteful changes which have undermined our mission and caused catastrophic impacts on NASA's workforce." Their grievances were listed in the letter (included verbatim): We dissent to changes to NASA's Technical Authority capacities that are driven by anything other than safety and mission assurance. We dissent to the closing out of missions for which Congress has appropriated funding. We dissent to implementing indiscriminate cuts to NASA science and aeronautics research. We dissent to NASA's non-strategic staffing reductions. We dissent to canceling NASA participation in international missions. We dissent to the termination of NASA contracts and grants for reasons unrelated to performance. We dissent to the elimination of programs aimed at developing and supporting NASA's workforce. Public impact Protesters at the July 20 demonstration warned of broader impacts that such substantial cuts could have on the public at large. NASA contract employees Justin and Madeline said they attended the protest to raise awareness about all the contributions to society that have come from NASA research and innovations. "A lot of the stuff we have on Earth, like our cell phones, hurricane coverage, that's all because of NASA. And defunding NASA means defunding all of that and making life worse for everyone," Justin told "And I don't think a lot of people realize that." NASA employee Ben put much of NASA's contributions into perspective by breaking down the numbers: "In 2023-2024, for every dollar that NASA got in tax revenue, NASA generated $3 in economic output in the United States. Our actual budget was $25 billion and we generated $75 billion from that $25 billion. We generated 300,000 jobs across the country … And setting all of that aside, what about things you can't put a price on?" His $75 billion output figure, while a reasonable estimate, is not yet confirmed. NASA has not released full economic impact reports for 2023 or 2024. Ben cited examples of NASA spinoff technology — advances in lasers developed by scientists building the James Webb Space Telescope are helping doctors perform eye surgeries on Earth, and innovations from the Hubble Space Telescope have contributed to mammogram imaging and technology used at hardware stores to match paint colors. "None of this stuff even is accounted for in that three-to-one benefit that NASA generates directly to the economy," Ben said. "Why, pray tell, in the name of efficiency, so called, is NASA the place you want to start slashing funding from?" "There's a lot of inventions that NASA has, if not created, at least catalyzed," Will told "If we zero out so many things, no longer are we going to have the great leap for mankind that Armstrong is so famously talking about." Human cost Julie echoed those sentiments, highlighting not a mission, but a whole department on the chopping block: NASA's Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM). "OSTEM has been zeroed out completely," she said. "That not only has an effect on what we do at NASA in terms of workforce development, but also kids across the entire country won't have access to those programs, won't have access to scholarships that let them go on to grad school and let them learn other things." "A lot of what NASA does is train teachers, so teachers can train students. If that's something that goes away completely, it's going to impact the entire next generation of students." - Julie Another protester, who asked to be identified only as "MC", has worked as a teacher across a wide field of age ranges and learning abilities. "Every place I've ever taught, or every program I've ever supported — everybody needs science," she said. "Every curriculum I've ever developed had science … Science of all kinds is incredibly important. And space — space is where we're going." One protester, who identified herself as the mother of a NASA employee, stressed the value of empowering the next generation. "It's very important that our kids have their dreams and reach those dreams," she said. "If NASA is cut the way it is, STEM education is cut, science is cut, research is cut — we won't have kids who have dreams anymore." George is part of a team responsible for testing spacecraft at Goddard. He attended Sunday's protest alongside his wife and three daughters. "Goddard is looking at basically being shut down, and we have a whole bunch of people that know how to build individual, specific scientific spacecraft," he told "If we lose that [technical knowledge], it's gone." "Where are we going to learn how to do that again?" George added. "Are we going to have to have another Challenger moment to learn how to do that again? Maybe." George's daughters said they wanted to attend the protest to support their father. "It's his job, so obviously that's important to us," his eldest, 15, said. But she's also worried about what the future might look like if science takes a backseat at the space agency. "I think that we should also be concerned about science over the future generations," she said, calling the budget's potential ramifications a "big loss." Job security is on the forefront of many NASA employees and contractors, many of whom have already received notice that their mission is at "high risk" of cancellation. Justin hasn't received such a notice yet, but says the mission he works on studies climate change by measuring ice caps, "so I am assuming a couple things here," he said. That insecurity is already pushing some NASA scientists to look outside the agency. Amid potential layoffs, some are considering not just leaving the space agency, but the United States altogether. A lack of stability in the U.S. science community is opening the door for international recruitment. "Right now, Europe and Asia, every other country in the world, sees what's happening, and they're extending offers," Finch said to the crowd. "The next day, the members of the workforce are gone." Justin is still mulling over his options if his program gets canceled. But he came to a quick alignment with Madeline's stance that she would "probably work for a different country that values science." "That would be the one," Justin said in agreement. Several European institutions have already begun reaching out to scientists and engineers across the U.S. to gauge people's interest in continuing their work abroad. One representative said in an email obtained by that the responses to their initial outreach were "overwhelming (and worrying)." With budget negotiations still ongoing in Congress, protesters are urging lawmakers to act before NASA loses the talent and infrastructure that made its past achievements possible. "I don't want to be a member of the first generation of humans that stops exploring," Finch said. "We are not the ones who will suffer most — it is every generation of humans that will be set back by our abdication."
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
NASA to lose thousands of employees to voluntary resignation
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is set to lose nearly 4,000 employees as a result of a voluntary resignation programme, part of a broader push from President Donald Trump's administration to cut the federal workforce. The first round of resignations came at the beginning of the Trump administration when the workers received emails that offered them a buyout.(AFP/Representational Image) The exact number of employees can change as NASA reviews applications, reported Bloomberg, adding that the space agency will lose roughly 3,870 people. Talking about the resignations, NASA told Bloomberg that the agency is focusing on becoming more streamlined, with the main focus on safety. 'More efficient organisation and work will ensure we remain fully capable of pursuing a Golden Era of exploration and innovation, including to the Moon and Mars,' NASA said further. Through the government's Deferred Resignation Program, NASA gave its employees two opportunities in 2025 to leave the organisation. The agency says that its remaining civil servant workforce is expected to be about 14,000 people after both resignation programs. Two rounds of deferred resignation The first round of resignations came at the beginning of the Trump administration when the workers received emails that offered them a buyout. This effort was headed by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. As the offer spread, about 870 people or 4.8 per cent of the NASA employees, took the offer then. Meanwhile, the second round of deferred resignation began in early June, with the deadline to choose by July 25. This offer was then taken up by about 3,000 personnel, or 16.4% of the workforce, as per NASA. Deferred resignation as way to avoid layoffs Executives at NASA have encouraged deferred resignation as a way to avoid layoffs, to reduce the workforce and comply with the trump administration's goal of reducing the workforce. According to an audio recording obtained by Bloomberg, Janet Petro said during an emergency town hall meeting in June that the reason NASA is doing this is to minimise the involuntary cutback in workforce in the future. 'That is our whole goal, minimising that,' he said further. In February, NASA sought a 'blanket waiver' to protect the agency's probationary employees from layoffs. Concerns of NASA losing talent The prospects of mass cutoffs have raised concerns in the agency, with some experts arguing that this can cause NASA to lose some of the best talent within the agency. A letter to the newly appointed NASA interim administrator, Sean Duffy, signed by hundreds of former and current employees, warned the agency about the potential harm of workforce reductions. The letter titled 'The Voyager Declaration' stated that the cutback could jeopardise the safety and efficiency of operations. It talked about the thousands of civil servant employees who have already been terminated, resigned or taken an early retirement, ' taking with them highly specialised, irreplaceable knowledge crucial to carrying out NASA's mission,' the letter said, highlighting the consequences of the workforce reduction.
News18
4 days ago
- Business
- News18
NASA to Lose 20% of Workforce Amid Trump Administration Restructuring
Last Updated: About 20% of NASA's workforce will leave the agency as it undergoes restructuring under the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the federal government size. Under major restructuring move, around 20 per cent of the workforce at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is set to leave the agency, a spokesperson confirmed on Friday. In line with the Trump administration's move to lay off federal employees, NASA's workforce would shrink from over 18,000 employees to around 14,000. Approximately 3,870 NASA employees have opted to leave through the government's Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), though the agency noted the figure may change in the coming weeks as applications are finalized or withdrawn. NASA in an official statement said this is an effort to make the agency more 'streamlined and efficient". 'Safety remains a top priority for our agency as we balance the need to become a more streamlined and more efficient organization and work to ensure we remain fully capable of pursuing a Golden Era of exploration and innovation, including to the Moon and Mars," NASA said in a statement. This is the second time that NASA employees are leaving the agency. In June 2025, the first round, initiated shortly after Trump's inauguration, offered a buyout to federal workers, resulting in the voluntary departure of around 870 NASA employees—roughly 4.8 per cent of its workforce at the time. As per a report by Politico, published earlier this month, the Trump administration was reportedly planning to cut at least 2,145 senior ranking NASA employees, most of those equipped with specialised skills and managerial abilities. The report added that the agency had offered the affected staff early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations. view comments First Published: July 28, 2025, 15:06 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Nasa under attack: Mass layoffs, budget cuts hit American space dominance
As the American space agency prepares for the launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station as part of Crew-11 mission, Nasa is in the midst of an unprecedented scientists, engineers, and workers across the United States are protesting a sweeping wave of layoffs following dramatic budget cuts enacted under the Trump administration. Nearly 20% of the agency's workforce, estimated at 3,870 employees, are set to leave, dramatically shrinking Nasa from over 18,000 employees to around 14,000. Many agency veterans say morale has plummeted. (Photo: Reuters) advertisementSWEEPING CHANGES The departures come via the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), a buyout-style initiative introduced as part of a broader federal effort to create a 'leaner and more efficient' officials insist the agency remains committed to safety and exploration goals, including planned missions to the Moon and Mars, internal experts warn that the loss of institutional knowledge and talent poses grave risks to future protests broke out over the weekend, with hundreds of Nasa employees, contractors, their families, and supporters gathering outside iconic sites like the Smithsonian National Air and Space UNDER THREATRally organisers decried what they called 'preemptive compliance' with an unfinished budget, fearing the agency's storied legacy and scientific safety standards had been undermined before Congress had finalised funding agency veterans say morale has plummeted. The layoffs, implemented in two waves throughout 2025, have triggered a chain reaction of resignations and retirements, with workers expressing concerns that crucial 'brain drain' is happening too quickly for any meaningful succession planning.'We are here because Nasa is under attack,' one protest leader declared, warning that the erosion of experience and oversight could imperil future missions and even astronaut safety. The departures come via the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP). (Photo: Reuters) Adding to frustrations, nearly 300 Nasa scientists and engineers have co-signed the 'Voyager Declaration,' an open letter protesting the funding cuts and organisational declaration cautions that the rapid personnel losses and elimination of critical programs could bring about 'irreparable damage,' particularly to Nasa's ability to pursue climate research, advanced aeronautics, and deep space assurances from the agency's leadership that safety and innovation remain priorities, those on the front lines say the mass departures and persistent uncertainty have left Nasa 'demoralised' and at a continue to call on US Congress to act swiftly, warning that America's preeminence in space and science is at stake.- Ends
