I always figured it was LBJ in some way.
Kennedy’s space program was eating up money that Johnson
needed for his socialize America, Great Society project.
You might want to read this article. LBJ’s Space Race: what we didn’t know then
LBJ is the guy who started the "Space Race" back in the late 50s when he was Senate majority leader. It was Johnson who pushed Kennedy into committing to put a man on the moon. It was only the spiraling cost of the Vietnam War that forced Johnson to cut budgets for the space program in the late 60s.