Washington – In a reversal, the White House plans to maintain the National Space Council, a step that industry officials say that the budget can work as a lawyer for space amidst the pressure of cuts.
The White House is expected to formally announce in the coming weeks that the National Space Council will continue after speculation that it will not be maintained by the new Trump administration. Politico reported the move for the first time.
A formula familiar with the discussion about the council, but not authorized to speak on records, said that President Trump agreed to raise the council at the May 5 meeting. The meeting did not publicly announce a time to announce the council or hiring an executive secretary, which would handle day-to-day operations, although others said that the process of selecting an executive secretary has been going on for several weeks.
The council was inactive to a quarter of about a century before re -establishing Trump in 2017. At that time was led by Vice President Mike Pence, the council served as an inter -contact coordination body, organizing a series of public meetings and released policies on a wide range of space issues.
The Biden administration retained the council, vice -president Kamala Harris. The council’s public profile was low with low meetings and policies. It worked on coordinating policies among the agencies and issued a proposal for the “Mission Authority” of novel space activities, which is not currently a license, although the proposed law was not taken by the Congress.
The new Trump administration had not allegedly interested in maintaining the council when it took over in January, with no announcement of new employees for the council or other activities. According to some reports, the council opposed the council, viewing it unnecessarily, by the SpaceX’s chief executive and a close advisor to the President. Vice President JD Vance, who will preside over the council, has also said very little about space.
It is not clear what Parivartan inspired, although Musk has publicly stated that he is planning to spend less time in government activities. Some of the space community, however, see the change as an opportunity for over -advocacy of space within administration, especially a financial year 2026 budget proposal has been proposed that cuts NASA’s budget by about 25%.
An industry official mentioned that the budget proposal was developed by the Management and Budget (OMB) without a counterweight provided by a space council, an approach that prioritizes the cost cut. The result may be different with the Space Council, saying that during the first term of Trump, the person cited NASA’s budget.
The source said, “After the Space Council stands, OMB will have a seat on the table, but they will not be the owner of the table.”
