Senators ask Trump's Air Force nominee

28/2/2025 6:20

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.