Let’s get something straight.
During Trump’s first term, NASA’s overall budget did go up every year. That’s true. But look closer. Every single budget request from his White House tried to cut Earth science, cancel major space telescopes, and eliminate STEM education programs that feed the next generation of scientists and engineers.
Congress had to step in each time just to stop the damage.
Now in Trump’s second term, they’re not even pretending.
The 2026 budget cuts NASA by 24%, dropping it to pre-2015 levels.
It kills the Roman Space Telescope, a once-in-a-generation observatory.
It delays NEO Surveyor, the very system designed to detect hazardous asteroids.
It zeros out the Office of STEM Engagement, again, because apparently Republicans think planetary defense doesn’t need talent.
It even axes long-standing Artemis programs like Orion and Gateway, gambling that commercial partners will fill the void.
Yet here’s Rep. Mike Haridopolos grinning on social media, hosting a hearing titled “From Detection to Deflection” like his party isn’t the one slashing the detection system in the first place.
This is what Republicans do: they gut science, defund education, and then turn around and sell you polished rhetoric like they’re the guardians of space.
If Mike and his party actually cared about planetary defense, they’d stop attacking the institutions and people who make it possible.
They wouldn’t be cutting the budget that literally finds the asteroids, trains the engineers, and builds the tech to stop them.
This isn’t leadership. It’s propaganda.
You don’t get to cut the parachute and claim you care about the landing.
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Rep. Mike Haridopolos
@RepHaridopolos
Replying to @RepHaridopolos
Planetary defense is not just a scientific exercise or science fiction. It's a matter of emergency preparedness, risk management and national security.
Because when it comes to defending Earth, there are no second chances.
Tune in on Thursday at 10AM.
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