(The Hill) — NASA is reducing its workforce by over 20 percent as part of President Trump’s initiative to minimize the size of the federal government since his return to the White House.

Approximately 4,000 employees have opted to leave the space agency through two phases of the deferred resignation program. The deadline for submissions to this program was Friday at midnight.

In the initial phase, around 870 personnel applied to exit, and about 3,000 more followed in the second phase — reducing the workforce from 18,000 to about 14,000, according to information provided to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network, by NASA.

The agency said the total number also includes the 500 workers who were lost due to normal attrition. 

“Safety remains a top priority for our agency as we balance the need to become a more streamlined and more efficient organization and work to ensure we remain fully capable of pursuing a Golden Era of exploration and innovation, including to the Moon and Mars,” a NASA spokesperson said in a statement. 

A budget proposal from the White House, released in May, would reduce NASA’s overall budget by 24 percent. The topline number would drop from $24 billion to $18 billion. 

Over 360 NASA employees sent a letter to their employer earlier this month, urging them not to make deep cuts, warning it will have “dire” consequences.

“We are compelled to speak up when our leadership prioritizes political momentum over human safety, scientific advancement, and efficient use of public resources,” the workers wrote. “These cuts are arbitrary and have been enacted in defiance of congressional appropriations law.” 

The deferred resignation program was instituted throughout the federal government by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to help slash the size of the federal workforce and cut down on costs, waste, fraud and abuse.

NASA also experienced turbulence earlier this year as the president’s first pick for the agency’s administrator, tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, was pulled in late May, days before he was set for a confirmation vote. 

Shortly after, Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk — who was the chief adviser for DOGE before he departed the White House — had a public falling out. 

Trump later tapped Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to be the interim NASA administrator, saying earlier this month that the former Wisconsin lawmaker is doing a “TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our roads and bridges, making them efficient, and beautiful, again.”