US Senator's Message to New DOT Secretary: Keep Elon Musk Away From the FAA

by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 5:40 PM ET, Thu February 6, 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."

A 30-year aviation industry veteran, Whitaker had been unanimously confirmed as FAA administrator by the Senate in 2023. He resigned the day Trump was inaugurated. During the last several months of his tenure, Whitaker faced regular criticism from Musk, who was unhappy with the FAA's purview over his SpaceX operations.

Musk’s SpaceX launched 134 rockets last year. And in September, the FAA fined the company $633,009 for failing to follow license requirements for two of those launches, according to Cantwell's letter.

The senator also expressed concerns about the fact that the FAA does not currently have a permanent administrator as it grapples with the most deadly airline crash in almost a quarter-century. An American Eagle passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter collided in mid-air in Washington D.C. earlier this month killing 67 people.

Before concluding her letter, Cantwell turned her attention to the fact that Musk’s newly created Department of Government Ethics (DOGE) may be enlisted by Duffy to help upgrade the FAA. Duffy tweeted as much on social media.

“Yesterday, Duffy wrote on the social media platform X that he plans to use The Department of Government Efficiency, of which Musk is a leader, to “to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system.” His post followed two weeks of DOGE employees disrupting operations across the federal government, including freezing the hiring of air traffic controllers and encouraging all FAA employees to take a buyout,” Cantwell explained.

DOGE’s and Musk’s efforts included urging federal employees – including air traffic controllers and FAA safety inspectors – to end their employment through a new deferred resignation program in the midst of a shortage of about 3,000 certified controllers. The move also comes at a time when there is a need for more safety inspectors on aircraft production factory floors, Cantwell explained in her letter.

Also today, Cantwell told reporters on Capitol Hill that Musk’s involvement in the FAA’s oversight of our air transportation system was “a clear conflict of interest.”

Last year, as chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Cantwell raised concerns about the nation’s shortage of air traffic controllers and the need for more FAA safety inspectors.