We have to be understanding - after all China DID give lots of money to Hunter... and to other deadbeat sons of DC's 'elites'....
Actually, in some respect, NASA was constrained by Congress, which required the SLS program to use existing Space Shuttle technology. The main booster of the SLS is a stretched space Shuttle external tank. The four main engines are the same model the Space Shuttle used and the two solid boosters are the same as the Space Shuttle.
Of course, that makes NASAs failure all the more glaring in some ways.