Senators ask Air Force nominee to respond to allegations of favoring Musk's SpaceX
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, 2020. (Reuters)
By Marisa Taylor and Alexandra Ulmer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday asked President Donald Trump's Air Force secretary nominee whether he unfairly favored Elon Musk in a classified, multibillion-dollar spy satellite contract.
In a letter sent Thursday, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Duckworth, both Democrats, asked nominee Troy Meink how his role in the contract solicitation may have favored SpaceX, Musk's rocket and satellite company.
The Massachusetts and Illinois lawmakers cited a recent Reuters report that Meink, a top official at the National Reconnaissance Office, changed the contract requirements in a way that made SpaceX the company best suited to fulfill it.
Complaints about Meink's role, Reuters reported, prompted the inspector general of the agency, which controls the country's spy satellite programs, to investigate whether Meink had improperly directed the transaction toward SpaceX. Musk's space venture ultimately won the classified contract in 2021.
It isn't clear whether the inspector general concluded a report or if any investigation remains underway.
Reuters was unable to reach Meink for comment on the letter.
A spokesperson for the NRO in an email said "all NRO acquisitions are carefully reviewed throughout the acquisition process to ensure compliance with all applicable contractual laws and regulations." The agency declined to address specifics of the spy satellite contract; the inspector general, in the same email, declined to comment.
Neither SpaceX nor Musk responded to Reuters' requests for comment.
"These are incredibly serious allegations of misconduct and favoritism," the senators wrote in the letter, reviewed by Reuters. "These reports raise concerns about your ability, if confirmed as Secretary, to treat contractors fairly and prioritize the Air Force's mission over Elon Musk's business interests."
The senators noted that a 2024 report by an advisory board to the Defense Department found that the Pentagon's dependence on a sole vendor like SpaceX can stifle innovation, inflate prices and create a monopoly. In a series of 10 questions, the lawmakers pressed the nominee to detail the nature of his relationship with Musk and SpaceX, and asked Meink for a response by March 6.
The letter comes as Meink, an engineer and former military officer who has served as principal deputy director of the NRO since 2020, awaits confirmation before their committee. No date has been set yet for his confirmation hearing.
His nomination, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, followed a recommendation from Musk. The billionaire entrepreneur-turned-Trump-advisor has influenced White House appointments and caused uproar over potential conflicts of interest because his various companies, including SpaceX, conduct extensive business with the federal government.
One of the people, who was close to Trump's transition team, said Musk pushed the team shortly after the election to pick Meink and that some senior advisors were concerned about the potential conflict of interest. "Musk picked him," the person said. "He went in and said: 'This guy is going to be secretary of the Air Force.'"
The spy-satellite contract, details of which have never been disclosed by the government, is for hundreds of satellites to collect and relay high-resolution imagery of military and intelligence targets worldwide. Initially valued at $1.8 billion, the contract is expected to total several times more as the satellite network gets deployed.
(Editing by Paulo Prada)
