Policy Update (22 July 2025)

On 9 July, Sean Duffy, the current Senate-appointed US Secretary of Transportation, was named as the new Acting Administrator for NASA. There are also reports that Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, the Director of NASA Goddard, is leaving NASA along with the thousands of other NASA employees who are departing the agency. On 17 July, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled "Creating Schedule G in the Excepted Service," which creates a new hiring category, Schedule G, for political appointees. The EO also strips removal protections from select federal employees. We have also learned that the nominee for Director of US Citizenship & Immigration Services is looking to limit Optional Practical Training for students, stating in a confirmation hearing that he would like to see programs "that would allow us to remove the ability for employment authorizations for F-1 students beyond the time that they are in school." To read more, check out:

• What's Ahead: The Week of July 14th, 2025 (AIP FYI)
• What's Happening in Space Policy 20-26 July 2025 (SpacePolicyOnline)
• Duffy Just Getting Started as Acting NASA Administrator (SpaceNews)
• NASA Goddard Center Director Makenzie Lystrup Set to Depart (NASA)
• Snubbing Trump, Immigration Nominee Would End Student Practical Training (Forbes)

Last week, we released a new Action Alert in response to the reports that indicate OMB may direct NASA and NSF, among other agencies, to operate at deep cut levels in the President's Budget Request (PBR) if a Continuing Resolution is implemented in FY2026. Send an email or make a phone call to your members of Congress, and share some details about how these cuts are impacting your work. It only takes a few minutes.

On 10 July, NASA's Science Mission Directorate released its annual Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) solicitation, following a delay of several months. It appears that ROSES-25 will fund five times fewer grants than last year, with many Planetary Science programs being consolidated into a single Solar System Science program, and many Heliophysics programs still listed as TBA. The reduced funding available through ROSES is yet another indication that significant cuts are already being implemented at NASA, despite being under a Continuing Resolution that should maintain funding levels at FY2024 levels.

Yesterday, the American Federation of Government Employees sent a letter to Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, voicing strong concern over the integrity of NSF and the protections of its civil servants. The letter also states that as of 2 July, around $2.2 billion of the NSF's $9 billion budget for FY2025 has been illegally withheld.

Last week, Rep. Valerie Foushee, Rep. Don Beyer, and Rep. Seth Moulton wrote a letter addressed to Sean Duffy opposing the FY2026 President's Budget Request proposal to cut NASA Science by 47%, and urging against any efforts to circumvent Congress’s constitutional authority by already implementing proposed FY2026 cuts to NASA Science in FY2025. A total of 64 members of Congress signed this letter, thanks in part to the quick action of dozens of AAS advocates. Check out Rep. Foushee's press release to see the letter and the final list of signatories. To learn more about the issue of NASA funding in FY2025 and FY2026, check out Eric Berger's article in Ars Technica.

The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its FY2026 Commerce, Justice, & Science (CJS) spending bill and reported the bill favorably to the Senate last week. Overall, the Senate voiced strong support for science and kept science funding at nearly the same level as FY2024. For more details, check out our new blog post, which delves into the CJS report language for astronomical science programs at NASA and NSF. We will post a similar update about the House CJS bill when it becomes available. The House Appropriations Committee is marking up its CJS bill at 10:00 am ET on Thursday, 24 July.

Stand Up for Science has released a Voyager Declaration in response to the recent cuts and attacks on NASA. Consider adding your name to their statement of support.

Last week, the AAS policy team held another webinar to update the AAS community on the current Appropriations process and the One Big Beautiful Bill. Thank you to all of those who tuned in and asked questions. Follow us on Bluesky (@policy.aas.org) and X (@AAS_Policy) to stay up-to-date with the latest updates. As always, if you have questions or comments, please email [email protected].