Travel Pulse by Northstar
Mia Taylor
06 February 2025
The ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation is calling on newly appointed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to ensure Elon Musk stays out of Federal Aviation Administration operations.
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, who is also a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to Duffy today outlining Musk’s “clear conflicts of interest” when it comes to the FAA.
The letter highlights retaliatory actions Musk has already taken against FAA leadership after Musk's SpaceX was fined for failure to comply with government rules surrounding launches.
“FAA has the legal responsibility for safety oversight of companies with commercial space transportation licenses. Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket launches share the airspace with commercial airplanes, and the FAA has the responsibility for keeping the entire airspace safe,” Cantwell wrote in her letter to Duffy.
“SpaceX has been fined by the FAA for failing to comply with specific requirements in its launch license. Mr. Musk, in turn, called for the firing of Mike Whitaker, the FAA Administrator who the Senate confirmed 98-0 because the FAA issued a fine against SpaceX for not following the rules,” Cantwell continued. “We have ethics and recusal laws for a reason—to prevent corporate interference in protecting the public interest."
Read on: US Senator's Message to New DOT Secretary: Keep Elon Musk Away From the FAA | TravelPulse
