Preparing For a Congressional Flip At NASA

Keith’s note: Prior to the arrival of NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman a substantial part of NASA management direction was done verbally and not documented. Often times it was in direct opposition to stated congressional direction. Congress was not amused – especially Democrats. That has changed under Jared Isaacman to a rather substantial extent. While the FY 2027 Presidential Budget Request for NASA is a near mirror image of the FY 2026 PBR, Congress seems to have a much better interaction with Isaacman – and NASA management. But they are still not happy with science and education cuts. And there is still the matter of NASA delivering its FY 2026 operating plan to Congress. If Democrats gain majority in the House (and maybe the Senate) those concerns will be turbocharged. Meanwhile, the White House is leery of what a potential congressional flip in one or both chambers might mean. According to the Washington Post “The roughly 30-minute briefings have included a PowerPoint presentation about how congressional oversight works and best practices for handling it, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Staff from the counsel’s office have encouraged political appointees to be careful about what they put in writing and provided guidance for how to respond to congressional inquiries in a timely manner, the people said.” NASA may be somewhat ahead already when it comes to thinking across the aisle. That said … stay tuned.