Republican Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) on Sunday criticized the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to NASA.
“I think it would be a mistake to put money only in the missions related to exploration and not into science and the others. I wouldn’t start with the premise that exploration is the only important aspect of the budget,” said Moran, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, which oversees NASA, at the annual Space Symposium in Colorado, according to SpaceNews.
Earlier this month, the White House Office of Management and Budget requested $18.8 billion for NASA from Congress for fiscal 2027, $5.6 billion less than the 2026 amount.
The proposed budget would cut $3.4 billion from NASA’s science unit by terminating more than 40 “low-priority” missions. It would also cut $1.1 billion from the International Space Station, which is scheduled to be retired in 2030; $297 million from the space technology unit; and $143 million from NASA’s Office of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Engagement — including the termination of a program that funneled millions to engineering and data science initiatives at historically Black colleges and universities.
But Moran reportedly said Sunday that he will work to fund NASA “in a way that is pretty similar to what we did last year.” He also noted that his subcommittee has scheduled a hearing on the budget proposal with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman but did not provide a date.
“I understand that a strong NASA requires stability, predictability and balance,” the Kansas Republican added.
Earlier this month, Isaacman defended the cuts in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“NASA’s budget is greater than every other space agency across the world,” he told host Jake Tapper. “NASA’s science budget is greater than every other space agency combined across the world. A lot of that takes out of context the $10 billion investment in President Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill or Working Families Tax Cut credit.
“That’s what gives us the capability to get to the moon with frequency, to build the enduring presence on the moon, the moon base, which in itself is going to afford numerous scientific and technological development opportunities.”
But Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Judy Chu (D-Calif.), the co-chairs of the Congressional Planetary Science Caucus, said Thursday they were “deeply alarmed” by the administration’s proposed budget for NASA.
“These drastic cuts would create enormous chaos and uncertainty for critical missions, the scientific workforce, and long-term research planning,” the two wrote in a joint statement. “At the same time, current funding for NASA Science has not kept pace with inflation, underscoring the need for more investment, not less.”
