NASA under a microscope as DOGE makes on-site visits

DUTIES. NANCY. ALL RIGHT. CHRISTINA. THANKS. ALL RIGHT. TO NASA. NOW, IT IS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE AS PART OF THE PRESIDENT’S PLAN TO CLEAN OUT FEDERAL AGENCIES. WESH TWO HAS LEARNED THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY, WHICH IS BEING RUN BY SPACEX FOUNDER ELON MUSK, HAS BEEN ON SITE AT NASA. WESH TWO MEGAN MORIARTY IS LIVE AT THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER FOR US THIS AFTERNOON. SO, MEGAN, TO FIND OUT WHAT DOGE IS DOING AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACT ON OUR SPACE COAST, MEGAN. NANCY I WAS TOLD THAT DOGE HAS BEEN ON SITE AT SOME OF NASA’S FACILITIES, BUT THE SPOKESPERSON FOR KENNEDY SPACE CENTER COULDN’T CONFIRM WHICH LOCATIONS. WE ARE ALSO TOLD THAT THEY ARE WORKING WITH THE OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT TO COMPLY WITH WORKFORCE REDUCTION. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES COULD BE IMPACTED BY A MASS FIRING AS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LOOKS TO REDUCE WHAT IT CALLS WASTEFUL SPENDING IN SOME DEPARTMENTS. WE’RE DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT CUTS COMING TO NASA, ESPECIALLY AT CAPE CANAVERAL. CONGRESSMAN DARREN SOTO SAYS DOGE HAS BEEN COMING INTO DEPARTMENT SINCE LAST THURSDAY, TARGETING PROBATIONARY PERIOD EMPLOYEES. SOME OF THOSE ARE NEW EMPLOYEES AND OTHERS ARE MANAGEMENT LEVEL WHO JUST GOT REHIRED BACK ON OR OUR CONTRACTORS. I’VE HEARD REPORTS THAT COULD BE AS MUCH AS 10% OF THE WORKFORCE. NASA CONFIRMED DOGE HAS BEEN ON SITE AT SOME OF THEIR FACILITIES, AND THESE BUDGET CUTTERS AT DOGE DON’T CARE ONE IOTA ABOUT ANYBODY EXCEPT SATISFYING SOME ARTIFICIAL CONSTRUCT FROM MUSK. HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY CUT? WELL, YOU KNOW, THE IMPACT OF THOSE CUTS IS ON REAL PEOPLE. IT’S SOMETHING THAT RESEARCH SCIENTIST DOCTOR KEN CRAMER SAYS WILL HAVE LOOMING LONG TERM EFFECTS ON NASA’S WEBSITE. THERE IS A REDUCTION IN FORCE OR NOTICE EFFECTIVE RIGHT NOW AND EXPIRING IN 2026. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WELL, ACCORDING TO THE DOCUMENT, IT SAYS MANAGEMENT WILL PROACTIVELY CONSIDER AND EVALUATE THE USE OF PROGRAMS SUCH AS VOLUNTARY SEPARATION, INCENTIVE PROGRAM, VOLUNTARY EARLY RETIREMENT AUTHORITY AND RETRAINING PROGRAMS AND AUTHORITIES. IT ALSO SAYS IT WILL ASSESS WHETHER THERE IS A SURPLUS OF EMPLOYEES IN SPECIFIC ROLES OR LOCATIONS, DETERMINING THE NECESSARY POSITIONS, THEIR LOCATIONS AND WHEN THEY SHOULD BE FILLED, ABOLISHED OR VACATED. EVERY AGENCY HAS THE ABILITY TO BE MORE EFFICIENT, BUT THERE’S A RIGHT WAY TO DO IT. AND IN THE LAST 20 MINUTES, WE DID GET AN UPDATE FROM NASA HQ. THEY SENT US A STATEMENT SAYING IN PART, THE AGENCY IS IN THE PROCESS OF VALIDATING HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES WHO RESPONDED TO THE DEFERRED RESIGNATION OFFER BEFORE THE DEADLINE. SOME PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES HAVE TAKEN THE DEFERRED RESIGNATION OFFER, AND THOSE INDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN OR WILL BE ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE BY THE END OF THIS WEEK. GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS ALSO WEIGHED IN ON THE POSSIBILITY OF LAYOFFS AT A NEWS CONFERENCE THIS AFTERNOON. WHY? HE SAYS DODGE GETTING INVOLVED COULD BE A GOOD THING. THAT’S COMING UP. COVERING THE SPACE COAST LIV

Sweeping cuts across federal departments are impacting families in Central Florida as the Trump administration carries out mass firings.Sister station WESH confirmed that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been on-site at NASA this week.“We’re deeply concerned about cuts coming to NASA, especially at Cape Canaveral,” Congressman Darren Soto said. “We’ve seen the DOGE folks come in last Thursday. The trend nationally is that they’re firing all probationary employees. Some of those are new employees, and others are management-level staff who were recently rehired or are contractors.”We received this statement from NASA Headquarters on Wednesday regarding possible layoffs:"NASA continues to work as quickly as possible to comply with the guidance and direction provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for the Deferred Resignation Program and probationary employees. The agency is in the process of validating hundreds of employees who responded to the deferred resignation offer before the deadline. Some probationary employees have accepted the deferred resignation offer, and those individuals have been, or will be, on administrative leave by the end of this week. NASA is working with OPM on exemptions for those in the probationary period in mission-critical functions." — Cheryl Warner, NASA News ChiefOn NASA's website, there is a "reduction in force" notice effective until February 2026. Documents state that management will proactively consider and evaluate the use of programs such as the voluntary separation incentive program, voluntary early retirement authority, and retraining programs. The notice also states it will assess whether there is a surplus of employees in specific positions, determining which positions are necessary, their locations, and when they should be filled, abolished, or vacated.“Every agency has the ability to be more efficient, but there’s a right way to do it,” Soto said. He added that Congress is supposed to work with the administration to identify different efficiencies, but that’s not happening.Governor Ron DeSantis weighed in on DOGE’s presence during a news conference Wednesday in Tallahassee.“I think it will actually benefit us because what they should do is stop the project scheduled to spend a half-billion dollars on a new NASA building in D.C.,” DeSantis said. “When nobody shows up to work there anyway, or very few people do, it’s like this big vacant building. Scrap that, pocket the $500 million.”DeSantis suggested moving NASA's headquarters to Florida but did not address job cuts at Cape Canaveral.Research scientist Dr. Ken Kremer said this will have long-term effects."These budget cutters at DOGE don’t care about anybody except satisfying some artificial construct from (Elon) Musk,” Kremer said. “Well, you know, the impact of those cuts is on real people.”

Sweeping cuts across federal departments are impacting families in Central Florida as the Trump administration carries out mass firings.

Sister station WESH confirmed that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been on-site at NASA this week.

“We’re deeply concerned about cuts coming to NASA, especially at Cape Canaveral,” Congressman Darren Soto said. “We’ve seen the DOGE folks come in last Thursday. The trend nationally is that they’re firing all probationary employees. Some of those are new employees, and others are management-level staff who were recently rehired or are contractors.”

We received this statement from NASA Headquarters on Wednesday regarding possible layoffs:

"NASA continues to work as quickly as possible to comply with the guidance and direction provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for the Deferred Resignation Program and probationary employees. The agency is in the process of validating hundreds of employees who responded to the deferred resignation offer before the deadline. Some probationary employees have accepted the deferred resignation offer, and those individuals have been, or will be, on administrative leave by the end of this week. NASA is working with OPM on exemptions for those in the probationary period in mission-critical functions." — Cheryl Warner, NASA News Chief

On NASA's website, there is a "reduction in force" notice effective until February 2026. Documents state that management will proactively consider and evaluate the use of programs such as the voluntary separation incentive program, voluntary early retirement authority, and retraining programs. The notice also states it will assess whether there is a surplus of employees in specific positions, determining which positions are necessary, their locations, and when they should be filled, abolished, or vacated.

“Every agency has the ability to be more efficient, but there’s a right way to do it,” Soto said. He added that Congress is supposed to work with the administration to identify different efficiencies, but that’s not happening.

Governor Ron DeSantis weighed in on DOGE’s presence during a news conference Wednesday in Tallahassee.

“I think it will actually benefit us because what they should do is stop the project scheduled to spend a half-billion dollars on a new NASA building in D.C.,” DeSantis said. “When nobody shows up to work there anyway, or very few people do, it’s like this big vacant building. Scrap that, pocket the $500 million.”

DeSantis suggested moving NASA's headquarters to Florida but did not address job cuts at Cape Canaveral.

Research scientist Dr. Ken Kremer said this will have long-term effects.

"These budget cutters at DOGE don’t care about anybody except satisfying some artificial construct from (Elon) Musk,” Kremer said. “Well, you know, the impact of those cuts is on real people.”

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