Trump compresses 20-year Goddard plan into months during shutdown

The Goddard Engineers, Scientists and Technicians Association (GESTA), an IFPTE affiliate, warned in a Nov. 14, 2025, brief that nearly 100 laboratories were being displaced and that 'unique and valuable labs, equipment, and materials' were being discarded. The union said some employees received as little as 48 hours notice to vacate under threat of having belongings thrown away.

One building marked for closure contained a propulsion lab that GESTA described as 'mission-critical' for completing the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a flagship NASA mission designed to study dark energy and exoplanets.

Trump's April 2025 budget proposed cutting Goddard's science staff by 42%. Thousands of NASA employees at Goddard left through layoffs and voluntary separation incentives over the course of 2025.

GESTA argued the closures during the government shutdown may have violated the Antideficiency Act, which restricts what federal agencies can do during a funding lapse. NASA denied any illegality and called the moves 'strategic consolidation.'

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, sent Acting Administrator Sean Duffy a letter on Nov. 10 demanding NASA confirm within 24 hours that all lab closures and relocations had ceased. She warned the pace could 'irreversibly degrade critical functions' and 'permanently kneecap the agency.'

Sixteen Democrats on the House Science Committee wrote to NASA's Office of Inspector General on Nov. 21 asking officials to 'initiate a formal audit of NASA's management.' IGs are independent watchdogs who can document misconduct and refer findings to Congress or the Justice Department.

NASA officials cited building utilization rates of roughly 40% and pointed to leaky roofs and unreliable climate control systems as justification for the closures. The original February 2022 consolidation master plan was released under the Biden administration.

SSAI (Science Systems and Applications Inc.), a NASA contractor based in Lanham, Maryland, filed a WARN notice for 149 workers tied to a pending Goddard contract in late 2025 — its second such layoff notice of the year, after cutting 148 jobs in April.