Trump administration's funding freeze attempt could have stalled $1.2 billion in NASA spending

A Trump administration attempt to freeze trillions of dollars in U.S. government funding would have impacted a significant portion of NASA's budget.

NASA, like other U.S. federal agencies, received a memo Monday (Jan. 27) that instructed the agency to temporarily pause all federal financial assistance programs so the Trump administration can ensure that they are "consistent with the President's priorities." However, following widespread confusion throughout the U.S. government the the Office of Management and Budget, which issued the memo, rescinded it on Wednesday (Jan. 29), the New York Times reported.

The total amount of NASA grants and funding that would have been frozen add up to $1.28 billion dollars, according to the New York Times. Under the freeze, NASA could have been set to lose the most funding for its Science Mission Directorate (SMD), which will see $922 million of its budget paused. According to its mission statement, SMD "seeks to understand the origins, evolution, and destiny of the universe and to understand the nature of the strange phenomena that shape it."

Other NASA mission directorates that would have seen funding frozen include: Aeronautics Research ($57 million); the Office of STEM Engagement ($99 million); and Exploration Systems ($15 million), which is responsible for overseeing NASA's planned Artemis program of moon missions, in addition to Mars exploration.

NASA would have also seen some funds frozen for its Space Operations directorate ($53 million), which oversees ISS operations and related commercial spaceflight activities. The agency's Mission Support ($14 million) and Space Technology ($67 million) directorates will would have also seen its funds frozen.

In addition, Congressionally Directed Programs would have seen $57 million frozen; these programs are "provided by Congress for specific projects or programs in such a manner that the allocation (a) circumvents a merit-based or competitive allocation process, (b) applies to a very limited number of individuals or entities or (c) otherwise curtails the ability of the Executive Branch to independently manage the agency budget," according to a NASA Grant Compliance fact sheet.

According to the Trump administration's now-rescinded memo, the funding freeze was aimed at "ending 'wokeness' and the weaponization of government."

"The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve," the memo stated.

As recent weeks have shown, the Trump administration has the potential to bring sweeping changes to NASA. Two days after Trump was sworn in, acting NASA administrator Janet Petro sent agency employees a memo directing them to close offices or end programs associated with diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives.

Trump has also already nominated his pick for NASA administrator: billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, who has flown on two privately-funded missions with SpaceX, including the first all-civilian spacewalk.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 4 p.m. ET to include news that OMB's memo was rescinded.