--- title: "Congress Investigating Whether Elon Musk Is Using NASA to Enrich Himself" description: "House Democrats are investigating SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's glaring conflict of interest and using NASA to enrich himself." date: "2025-04-09" modified: "2025-04-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/congress-elon-musk-nasa-conflict-interest" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "NASA" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "doge" - "elon musk" - "NASA" - "SpaceX" --- # Congress Investigating Whether Elon Musk Is Using NASA to Enrich Himself ![House Democrats are investigating SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's glaring conflict of interest and using NASA to enrich himself.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* House Democrats are investigating SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's [glaring conflict of interest]() — and specifically whether he's using his immense sway over NASA to enrich himself. In a letter sent to NASA's chief legal officer, Iris Lan, representatives Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL) and Gery Connolly (D-VA) requested information and documents to prove that Musk wasn't exploiting his influence over the agency to hand himself and his businesses government contracts, [*Axios* reports](). Critics have pointed out that as the CEO of SpaceX — already one of NASA's largest private contractors — Musk could easily abuse access to information about his competitors in the space industry to give himself an unfair advantage. Key members of Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has overseen the gutting of several government agencies, have been given "unrestricted physical access, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, to NASA facilities, including the NASA Administrator’s suite," according to a separate letter sent by three House Democrats to acting administrator Janet Petro, [*Bloomberg* reports](). "T​​he 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 over the years and has secured another half a billion dollars since Trump was inaugurated, per *Axios*. "At NASA, where Mr. Musk has both benefited from significant contracts and has the potential to receive vast amounts of new business, his defiance of recusal laws and control of operations directly benefit his businesses," Frost and Connolly wrote in their letter to Lan. "The known conflicts of interest presented by this arrangement are illegal and must be addressed immediately." 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 expected to be sworn in as the agency's next administrator. Isaacman has traveled to space twice during two all-private missions involving SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsules and has never worked for NASA. 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 [impending SpaceX takeover of NASA](). **More on SpaceX:** *[NASA Signs Contract for Elon Musk's Starship, Even Though It's Never Launched Without Exploding]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()