Democratic members of the House are looking into claims involving Tesla CEO Elon Musk. glaring conflict of interest —and specifically whether he’s leveraging his significant influence over NASA to line his own pockets.
In a letter addressed to NASA’s principal legal advisor, Iris Lan, lawmakers Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) and Gery Connolly (D-VA) sought details and documentation to ensure that Elon Musk was not leveraging his sway over the agency to secure government contracts for himself and his enterprises. Axios reports .
Critics argue that since Musk is the CEO of SpaceX—a major private contractor for NASA—he might exploit insights into competitor companies within the aerospace sector to gain an uneven edge over them.
The key members of what was referred to as the Department of Government Efficiency under Musk's leadership, who have played roles in significantly reducing various governmental organizations, now possess "complete unrestricted entry at all times—both daily and nightly—to NASA premises, inclusive of the area designated for the NASA Administrator,” as stated in an individual correspondence from three Democratic representatives in the House to interim administrator Janet Petro. Bloomberg reports .
"The agency has allowed unvetted and untrained individuals to obtain unprecedented access, seemingly in defiance of standard agency protocols and simple common sense," the letter reads. "If the agency has vetted these DOGE-associated persons for their questionable professional histories or apparent conflicts-of-interest, we are not aware of it."
They're also concerned that he could also give SpaceX preferential treatment. Musk's space company has received over $15 billion in funding from the space agency throughout the years and has ensured an additional half a billion dollars since Trump took office, according to Axios .
"Mr. Musk has gained substantial benefits from significant contracts at NASA and stands to acquire considerable additional business opportunities there,” Frost and Connolly stated in their correspondence with Lan. “His disregard for recusal regulations and direct involvement in operational oversight clearly advantages his enterprises. This recognized conflict of interest is unlawful and necessitates immediate attention.”
The topic of conflict of interest at NASA is especially pertinent as billionaire fighter jet pilot-turned-SpaceX astronaut Jared Isaacman is expected to attend a confirmation hearing Today and is widely anticipated to take the oath of office as the head of the agency.
Isaacman has journeyed to space twice, participating in two fully private missions utilizing SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, and he has not been employed by NASA at any point.
In a March 12 letter to Lan, Isaacman argued that in the "event that an actual or potential conflict of interest arises during my appointment, I will consult with an agency ethics official and take the measures necessary to resolve the conflict, such as recusal from the particular matter or divestiture of an asset."
Whether those assurances will be enough for lawmakers remains to be seen. Given Isaacman's own considerable conflict of interest, his hearing today will likely draw plenty of probing questions from lawmakers worried about an approaching SpaceX acquisition of NASA .
More on SpaceX: NASA has signed a contract with SpaceX for Elon Musk’s Starship, despite it never completing an uncrewed launch without exploding.
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