### Proposed Budget Cuts Threaten NASA Glenn Research Center Jobs

The Trump administration's proposed budget for 2026 includes substantial reductions for NASA, significantly impacting Cleveland's NASA Glenn Research Center. The proposal suggests a workforce cut from 17,391 to 11,853 full-time employees across NASA, which translates to a reduction at Glenn from 1,391 to 837 positions.

The overall NASA budget would drop from $24.9 billion in 2025 to $18.8 billion in 2026. Adjusted for inflation, this would be NASA's smallest budget since 1961. Notably, the budget maintains over $7 billion for lunar exploration and introduces $1 billion in new investments for Mars-related programs, while aiming to streamline the agency's workforce and operations.

Significant programs, including the Artemis lunar exploration initiative, face termination under these cuts. Artemis, designed to return humans to the moon and prepare for Mars missions, would wrap up after its next two missions planned for 2026 and 2027, with Artemis III marked to return humans to the lunar surface.

The budget also proposes terminating the Lunar Gateway, a space station intended to support lunar missions. NASA Glenn is currently managing the development of the Gateway's Power and Propulsion Element, the most powerful solar electric spacecraft ever planned, being constructed by Maxar Space Systems.

In 2018, Dr. Janet Kavandi, then Director of NASA Glenn, highlighted that the center's budget had reached its highest in seven years, largely due to the work on the Power and Propulsion Element. Since Trump's inauguration, various state officials, including Gov. Mike DeWine, have advocated relocating NASA's headquarters to Cleveland, with NASA's current Washington D.C. lease expiring in 2028.

The proposed budget cuts, however, paint a challenging future for NASA's operations and workforce, particularly at the Glenn Research Center, which has become a pivotal site for advanced space initiatives.