Musk’s Possible Role in Meink, Isaacman Nominations Continues to Raise Concerns

Troy Meink, President Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of the Air Force, reportedly told the Senate Armed Services Committee that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sat in on his job interview with Trump. The revelation raises conflict of interest concerns since SpaceX has billions of dollars in contracts with the Department of the Air Force, which oversees the U.S. Space Force. It also resurfaces the question of whether Musk sat in on Trump’s interview with NASA Administrator-nominee Jared Isaacman. SpaceX is NASA’s second largest contractor. Isaacman has repeatedly declined to answer that question, but did tell the Senate Commerce Committee in response to post-hearing questions that he has terminated his contracts with SpaceX for two additional commercial spaceflights.

A vote on Meink’s nomination by the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) could happen anytime. The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will vote on Isaacman’s nomination on April 30.

Meink has a long career in national security space and is currently Principal Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) that designs, builds and operates the nation’s spy satellites. Allegations have surfaced that he steered a contract to SpaceX in that capacity.

SASC held a hearing on his nomination to be Secretary of the Air Force on March 27.  The Department of the Air Force oversees two military services, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Space Force that became a separate service in 2019.

As reported by Politico, in a written response to post-hearing questions from SASC, Meink acknowledged Musk was among those present during his job interview, but only Trump asked questions. Meink also said his only relationship with Musk and SpaceX is professional as part of his current duties at NRO.

Politico quoted a former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, however, as saying a military contractor helping pick the people who run the Pentagon is unprecedented and Meink should recuse himself from any decisions about Musk’s companies. SASC member Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called it “highly inappropriate.”  She and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) raised concerns about the Meink-Musk relationship before the hearing, but he was not asked questions about it at the time.

Conversely, during Isaacman’s hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on April 9, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) directly asked about his relationship with Musk.  Not only is SpaceX NASA’s second largest contractor, but Isaacman purchased two commercial spaceflights from SpaceX that he commanded in 2021 and 2024 (Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn) and his company, Shift4, has a contract with SpaceX to process payments for the Starlink communications satellite system.

Isaacman told Peters he’d had no communication with Musk since he was formally nominated to be NASA Administrator. Markey asked if Musk was at Mar-a-Lago and in the room when Trump interviewed him for the job.  Isaacman replied Musk was at Mar-a-Lago and they may have had a passing conversation, but as for who was in the room, he would say only that he was interviewed by Trump. After asking several times and getting the same answer, Markey finally said “I assume you don’t want to answer the question directly because Musk was in the room.”

Markey asked again in the committee’s post-hearing Questions for the Record (QFRs). Isaacman gave the same reply. He also disputed reporting in the Wall Street Journal that Musk had called to ask him if he wanted the job, directly responding “no, that reporting is false.”

In answers to committee Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), he also said a WSJ report that he talks frequently with Michael Altenhofen, a former SpaceX official who is now a senior NASA advisor, was wrong. He characterized his interactions with Musk as professional, not “close,” and assured her he had disclosed all his financial and contractual relationships during the ethics process and will “not hesitate to involve NASA’s General Counsel” or other appropriate officials on “any matter that could even give the appearance of a conflict.”

In addition to the two SpaceX commercial spaceflights he’s flown already, Isaacman purchased two more, another on Crew Dragon and the first crewed flight of the new Starship system. He told Cantwell he now has canceled those contracts and the money was refunded, while declining to say how much he paid for the first two.

“Pursuant to my ethics agreement, I have terminated all space flight service agreements that I had with SpaceX and all money paid to SpaceX for future missions has been refunded. Furthermore, pursuant to my ethics agreement, I am committed to ensuring that these funds are reinvested in non-conflicting passive investments. The amount I paid to SpaceX for past missions is subject to confidentiality obligations in my contractual agreements with SpaceX.”  — Jared Isaacman

Isaacman did not dispute Cantwell’s assertion that SpaceX pays Shift4 $10-16 million per year for Starlink-related services, but said he will resign from Shift4 and surrender his majority voting control if confirmed.

Whether conflict of interest issues will affect votes on either nomination in committee or on the floor is difficult to forecast. President Trump has been quite successful in getting his nominees confirmed, although there have been a few instances where nominations were withdrawn at the last minute when it became apparent they didn’t have the necessary support.