White House reviews SpaceX contracts as Trump-Musk feud simmers, Reuters sources say

The White House earlier this period directed the Defense Department and NASA to stitchery details connected billions of dollars successful SpaceX contracts pursuing the nationalist blowout betwixt President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, 4 radical acquainted with the bid told Reuters.

Sparking an ongoing review, the medication ordered the agencies to scrutinize Musk's contracts to acceptable imaginable retaliation against the businessman and his companies, these radical said. As Reuters reported connected Thursday, Pentagon officials are simultaneously considering whether to reduce the relation that SpaceX, Musk's abstraction and outer company, whitethorn triumph successful an ambitious caller U.S. rocket defence system.

Reuters couldn't find whether the White House intends to cancel immoderate of the approximately $22 cardinal successful national contracts SpaceX present has. But the reappraisal shows the medication is pursuing done connected a menace by Trump during his spat with Musk past week to perchance terminate concern and subsidies for Musk ventures. "We'll instrumentality a look astatine everything," the president said, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One connected June 6.

In an email to Reuters, a White House spokesperson didn't reply questions astir Musk's business, saying the "Trump medication is committed to a rigorous reappraisal process for each bids and contracts." In a abstracted statement, a spokesperson astatine NASA said the bureau "will proceed to enactment with our manufacture partners to guarantee the president's objectives successful abstraction are met."

Neither SpaceX nor officials astatine the Defense Department responded to requests for comment.

The radical acquainted with the bid said the declaration scrutiny is intended to springiness the medication the quality to determination accelerated if Trump decides to enactment against Musk, who until precocious was a elder advisor to the president and the caput of the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, oregon DOGE. The reappraisal is "for governmental ammunition," 1 of the radical said.

Whether the U.S. authorities could legally, oregon practically, cancel existing contracts is unclear. But the anticipation underscores concerns among governance experts that authorities and idiosyncratic pique could improperly power matters affecting authorities coffers, nationalist information and the nationalist interest.

"There's an irony present that Musk's contracts could beryllium nether the aforesaid benignant of subjective governmental scrutiny that helium and his DOGE squad person enactment connected thousands of different contracts," said Scott Amey, a contracting adept and wide counsel astatine the Project connected Government Oversight, a watchdog radical based successful Washington. "Any determination shouldn't beryllium based connected the egos of 2 men but connected the champion interests of the nationalist and nationalist security."

Musk's SpaceX successful caller years has go a important spouse of the U.S. authorities successful overmuch of its aerospace and defence enactment – launching satellites and different abstraction cargo and perchance managing a important constituent of the "Golden Dome" rocket shield planned by Trump.

Although Musk successful caller days has sought to locomotion backmost immoderate of his critiques of the president – specified arsenic calling for Trump's impeachment past week and linking him to a convicted enactment offender – his outbursts nevertheless highlighted the government's reliance connected SpaceX.

Before reversing course, Musk threatened to decommission the company's Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft, arsenic portion of a astir $5 cardinal declaration with NASA, is the lone U.S. vas presently susceptible of carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

SpaceX is besides gathering a web of hundreds of spy satellites nether a classified declaration with the National Reconnaissance Office, a U.S. quality agency. The declaration was a pivotal transaction for SpaceX, deepening its ties with U.S. defence and quality services.