Overview
- Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Randy Weber asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether the Smithsonian violated the Anti-Lobbying Act in attempts to resist relocating Space Shuttle Discovery to Houston.
- The Smithsonian says it does not engage in prohibited lobbying, asserts it holds full title to Discovery transferred by NASA in 2012, and emphasizes its duty to preserve the artifact for the nation.
- Congress authorized a path to relocate the orbiter and set aside $85 million in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, while separate appropriations efforts include language to block the funding.
- NASA and the Smithsonian have warned the move could require significant disassembly and push total costs well beyond the law’s allocation, with estimates ranging from roughly $50–55 million for transport to as high as $120–150 million, excluding a new facility that one estimate puts at about $325 million.
- Proponents cite a Congressional Research Service briefing that relayed a private-company transport estimate of about $8 million, and the Justice Department has not announced any action as a government shutdown and budget negotiations delay next steps.