This is the latest round of cuts since the Trump administration began its second term in January, after federal science agencies have taken measures such as layoffs, cancellation of funding and termination of projects in the fields of health, meteorology and natural resources.
The Department of Government Effectiveness is not a formal government agency but has been given broad authority under Musk to tighten government spending. The cuts were announced through X, its social media platform.
"This streamlining effort ensures taxpayer dollars are directed to the most impactful projects while maintaining the highest level of execution of NASA's core functions," NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said in a statement.
Stevens joined NASA as press secretary in early March after serving as press secretary for Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
"Overall, our goal is to deliver significant additional savings to the American people through these measures, reinforcing our commitment to efficiency, innovation and continued leadership in space exploration," Stevens added.
According to a post from the Ministry of Government Efficiency, $45 million of the $420 million in terminated contracts was paid to three consulting companies for "change management support services." This amount was equally divided among the three consulting companies, with each receiving $15 million.
However, there is a significant discrepancy between the Government Efficiency claims and the actual savings. The department claimed in February that it had saved tens of billions of dollars in expenses, but the actual savings were a fraction of that. According to media disclosures, the actual value of a certain contract that was marked as US$8 billion was only US$8 million.
According to data from the official website of the Ministry of Government Efficiency, of the $44.5 million it claimed to have saved by terminating 17 NASA contracts, the actual savings were only $26.1 million (the rest of the contract payments have already been paid in full). While the department claims significant savings, there has been a consistent lack of transparency in the data it reports.
Still, the Trump administration’s actions are triggering a major shift in cultural attitudes across federal agencies. At the end of January, NASA closed its office responsible for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility and canceled related contracts. Although the agency was just named one of the Best Employers for Diversity in 2023, the January memo shows that it has still not been able to avoid pressure from the government to halt equal employment programs in federal agencies.
NASA's budget cuts are being paralleled by layoffs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Park Service (NPS). National park reservations are down and cancellations are up as public interest in visiting declines amid service disruptions. Many federal employees, including meteorologists who model hurricane impacts, have their jobs hung in the balance by the lawsuit.
It's unclear exactly which contracts NASA has terminated, but achieving the $420 million in cost savings announced by the Department of Government Efficiency may require cutting several major projects or a large number of smaller projects.