Trump’s Labor Union EO Designates NASA as Primarily An Intelligence/National Security Agency

An Executive Order issued by President Trump to exclude NASA and other agencies from collective bargaining rights does so by designating them as having intelligence or national security as a primary function. That is quite a departure from NASA’s historical status as the nation’s premier civil space agency.  Apart from the Executive Order’s effect on the approximately 50 percent of NASA workers now represented by unions, what impact, if any, it will have on how NASA is viewed domestically and internationally remains to be seen.

In advance of tomorrow’s observance of Labor Day, Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) on Thursday excluding a number of agencies and agency subdivisions from collective bargaining representation pursuant to Title VII the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act — the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS).

Some agencies were excluded from FSLMRS when the law was written, including the FBI, CIA, and the National Security Agency. Presidents may add to the list by Executive Order if an agency is “determined to have as a primary function intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work.”

President Jimmy Carter signed the FSLMRS into law in 1978 and a year later issued EO 12171 excluding a two-page list of agencies or subdivisions primarily in DOD, the Department of the Treasury, Department of Energy, and the Agency for International Development. Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all added or modified the entities excluded from the statute. The exclusions were largely focused on DOD, DOT, DOE, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and others whose connection to intelligence and national security are relatively apparent.

Trump’s EO on Thursday and an earlier one issued on March 27, 2025 (EO 14251) appear to be the first to extend the exclusion to agencies traditionally viewed as civil. The March 27 EO included the National Science Foundation and the Federal Communications Commission, for example. Thursday’s includes not only NASA, but the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services (NESDIS), a part of NOAA that operates the nation’s civil weather satellites.

According to NASA’s website, 53 percent of the agency’s workforce is in a bargaining unit represented by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) or the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).  IFPTE, which filed a lawsuit against Trump’s March 27 EO, said it “condemns” Trump’s latest action. AFGE called the EO “another clear example of retaliation against federal employee union members” who stand up against “his anti-worker, anti-American plan to dismantle the federal government.”

In addition to the effect on the workforce, another question is how NASA will be viewed now that the President of the United States has declared its primary function as “intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work.”

NASA was created by the 1958 National Aeronautics and Space Act as a civilian agency, separate and distinct from military space activities. The Act begins with Congress declaring that U.S. space activities “should be devoted to peaceful purposes for the benefit of all mankind” and aeronautical and space activities shall be directed by “a civilian agency” except for those primarily associated with “weapon systems, military operations, or defense of the United States” which shall be the responsibility of the Department of Defense.

The NASA Act has been amended many times over the decades and was enacted as positive law in 2010 as Title 51 of the U.S. Code. The law currently states that “the aeronautical and space activities of the United States shall be conducted so as to contribute materially to one or more” of 10 objectives.

(1) The expansion of human knowledge of the Earth and of phenomena in the atmosphere and space.

(2) The improvement of the usefulness, performance, speed, safety, and efficiency of aeronautical and space vehicles.

(3) The development and operation of vehicles capable of carrying instruments, equipment, supplies, and living organisms through space.

(4) The establishment of long-range studies of the potential benefits to be gained from, the opportunities for, and the problems involved in the utilization of aeronautical and space activities for peaceful and scientific purposes.

(5) The preservation of the role of the United States as a leader in aeronautical and space science and technology and in the application thereof to the conduct of peaceful activities within and outside the atmosphere.

(6) The making available to agencies directly concerned with national defense of discoveries that have military value or significance, and the furnishing by such agencies, to the civilian agency established to direct and control nonmilitary aeronautical and space activities, of information as to discoveries which have value or significance to that agency.

(7) Cooperation by the United States with other nations and groups of nations in work done pursuant to this chapter and in the peaceful application of the results thereof.

(8) The most effective utilization of the scientific and engineering resources of the United States, with close cooperation among all interested agencies of the United States in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, facilities, and equipment.

(9) The preservation of the United States preeminent position in aeronautics and space through research and technology development related to associated manufacturing processes.

(10) The search for life’s origin, evolution, distribution, and future in the universe.

A White House fact sheet cited NASA’s development and operation of “advanced air and space technologies, like satellite, communications, and propulsion systems, that are critical for U.S. national security” as a justification for designating the agency as having intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work as a “primary function.”

NASA was created as a civilian agency to emphasize the U.S. goal of using space for peaceful purposes and to encourage international cooperation. The EO clearly is related to excluding NASA workers from representation by labor unions, but whether characterizing NASA as an intelligence/national security agency affects how it is viewed domestically or internationally remains to be seen.

Diane Howard, a space lawyer who was Director for Commercial Space Policy at the National Space Council in the Biden Administration, told SpacePolicyOnline.com there may be unintended consequences.

The EO may produce unintended consequences for the long-respected civil space missions performed by NASA and NOAA, hindering international collaboration when it is more important now than ever before. The global space community requires, at the least, more data sharing and, at the best, robust partnerships to accomplish our shared goals. We, as a nation, need to remember why we chose a civilian agency to lead the world in science and exploration back in 1958, and be careful not to create obstacles to continuing our remarkable successes in the years since. —  Diane Howard

Paul Stimers, an attorney at Holland & Knight, sees it differently, doubting international partners will be deterred.

It seems clear that this is a labor-oriented EO and should be viewed primarily through that lens. As such, I don’t think it should be seen as a reorientation of NASA toward national security, and I doubt our international partners would see it that way.  NASA has always been a civilian agency, but it has always had close ties to our armed forces and our national security establishment – and with good reason: space is the ultimate high ground, and it is more contested now than ever before. In the end, though, I expect that our international partners will want to continue working with NASA because of what it does, not how it is classified for labor relations purposes. — Paul Stimers

Note: this article has been updated.