Senate Dems asking Air Force secretary nominee if he helped SpaceX secure lucrative satellite contract
“These are incredibly serious allegations of misconduct and favoritism,” two Senate lawmakers said in a letter.
Senate Democrats are asking President Donald Trump’s Air Force secretary nominee if he was recommended for the role after he reportedly helped Elon Musk secure a multibillion satellite contract.
In a Thursday letter to Troy Meink, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), requested information about the role Musk played in Meink’s nomination to lead the Air Force and whether he arranged the lucrative contract in a way that positioned SpaceX as the best company to fulfill it during his tenure at the National Reconnaissance Office.
“These are incredibly serious allegations of misconduct and favoritism. 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,” said Warren and Duckworth.
The lawmakers cited a recent report from Reuters that Meink changed key requirements of the $2.5 billion contract, essentially “boxing out” other companies from bidding, according to seven people familiar with the contract. Reuters also reported that the incident prompted an investigation from the National Reconnaissance Office’s inspector general. It also reported that after L3Harris Technologies, SpaceX’s competitor, raised concerns about the contract, Meink told the company “future business with the agency could be hurt if it filed a formal protest.”
The lawmakers added that the National Reconnaissance Office has created a situation where SpaceX has a monopoly over its contracts — the company is both the manufacturer of spy satellites for the agency and the launch provider that deploys them into space.
“Preferential treatment towards or dependence on any company hurts competition, innovation, and national security. A May 2024 report by the Defense Science Board found that the Pentagon’s dependence upon a sole vendor like SpaceX can lead to ‘stifling innovation and inflating prices,’” the lawmakers wrote.
Warren and Duckworth asked Meink to respond to a list of questions about the nature of his relationship with Musk, the role Musk played in his nomination as the Air Force secretary and if the reports are true about Meink changing the contract’s requirements. The senators asked Meink to respond by March 6.
They also inquired whether Meink shared Musk’s sentiment about the Air Force’s F-35 program. Musk previously wrote on the social media platform X that human-piloted next-generation stealth fighters are “obsolete” and called F-35 makers “idiots.” The Pentagon’s F-35 program is one of the most expensive defense programs in history, with the Air Force aiming to buy over 1,700 F-35As.
Unlike most of Trump’s picks for the Pentagon’s top roles, Meink spent most of his career in the Air Force working in space-related roles, including serving as the undersecretary of the Air Force for space. Meink was appointed to his role as the principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office in 2020 during the first Trump administration.
The senators’ inquiry is the first major obstacle for Meink’s nomination in the Senate. Meink met with Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who leads the Senate Armed Services Committee, last week. Wicker said that Meink “understands that air and space power are essential to America’s military rebuild under President Trump” and that he “looks forward to leading his confirmation hearing.”
A date for Meink’s confirmation hearing has not been set yet.
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