NASA has lost about 500 people via normal attrition as well since Trump took office in January. Counting those losses, NASA's workforce will shrink to about 14,000 by Jan. 9, 2026, when the employees who said yes during the DRP's second phase will come off the rolls, Warner said in the statement.

This all comes a few weeks after the Trump administration's 2026 federal government budget proposal writ large, which includes a full 24% funding cut for NASA. Latest News

At the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), approximately 2,145 senior-ranking employees are expected to leave the agency, according to a report published by Politico on Wednesday.

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 ...

Most employees leaving are in GS-13 to GS-15 positions, senior-level government ranks, the report said, adding that the agency has offered staff early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations.

Six months after his second inauguration, not only US President Donald Trump’s ambitious vision of sending Astronauts to Mars seems to be increasingly questioning. The question arises whether NASA survives as a whole.