Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) on Thursday urged the acting head of NASA to revoke tech billionaire Elon Musk’s access to the space agency’s headquarters, citing an extreme conflict of interest.
“Since January 20, 2025, Mr. Musk has enjoyed nearly unfettered access to data across several government agencies and offices. At the same time, SpaceX is NASA’s largest private contractor, receiving nearly $2.3 billion from the agency in Fiscal Year 2023,” Meng wrote in a Tuesday letter to acting Administrator Janet Petro.
“Providing such access to Mr. Musk at NASA would create a blatant, multi-billion-dollar conflict of interest — exactly the kind of coziness between government and industry and corruption that my constituents fear happens in Washington,” she added.
The New York representative even went to visit the agency in person to raise concerns with Musk’s access.
The SpaceX and Tesla CEO joined President Trump in the Oval Office Tuesday, addressing concerns with a suggested conflict of interest as Musk leads the Department of Government Efficiency‘s (DOGE) efforts to overhaul the government, including dismantling agencies, and slash federal spending.
“The people voted for major government reform and that’s what the people are going to get,” Musk said about DOGE’s moves during the presser. “That’s what democracy is all about.”
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) has also pressed the administration this week for info on Musk’s compliance with ethics and reporting requirements. In a letter addressed to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Schiff said as a “special government employee,” the tech billionaire is subject to federal criminal conflict of interest statutes — which bar government staffers from participating in matters where they have a financial interest.
Trump on Tuesday said he is closely monitoring Musk’s work and will quickly combat any conflicts of interest or a lack of transparency.
