Trump proposes steep cut to NASA budget as astronauts head for the Moon

President Donald Trump released a budget blueprint on Friday calling for a 23 percent cut to NASA's budget, two days after the agency launched four astronauts on the first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years.

The White House requested a similar cut to NASA last year. The Republican-led Congress resoundingly rejected the proposal and kept NASA's budget close to its level in the final year of the Biden administration. Like last year's budget, the proposal from the Trump administration will undergo major changes as Congress weighs in over the coming months.

In a document explaining the NASA cuts, the Trump administration said it seeks to slash funding for "unnecessary and overpriced activities. " Under the White House plan, NASA will focus on the administration's priority of landing humans on the Moon before the end of Trump's term in office, then building a Moon base.