NEWS: Congressman Casar, Senator Warren Lead Call For Inspector General Review Of Musk Involvement in Golden Dome Contracts

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas) led a letter alongside Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and 40 other members of Congress calling on the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Defense to review the process for awarding the “Golden Dome” missile defense shield contract, including any involvement by Elon Musk.

Last month, Reuters reported that Musk’s SpaceX has emerged as a “frontrunner” for contracts, which could be worth trillions of dollars, and that sources report “ an attitude that the national security and defense community has to be sensitive and deferential to Elon Musk because of his role in the government.’" Reuters also reports the Pentagon is considering a highly unusual “subscription model” for SpaceX’s services. 

The letter states that “Musk's formal or informal participation in any process to award a government contract raises serious conflict of interest concerns, including the possibility that SpaceX is a top contender for the Golden Dome contract because of Mr. Musk’s position in the government.”

The letter asks that the inspector general refer the case to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation if he finds that Musk is using his role in government to secure a Golden Dome contract for SpaceX. The letter also raises concerns about the feasibility and cost of the Golden Dome. Finally, the letter requests an assessment of five questions about Musk’s involvement and the Golden Dome system.

The letter was led by Congressman Greg Casar (TX-35) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA) and signed by Senators Cory Booker (NJ), Tammy Duckworth (IL), Edward J. Markey (MA), and Jeff Merkley (OR). It is also signed by U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (VA-08), André Carson (IN-07), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Bill Foster (IL-11), Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Summer Lee (PA-12), Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Paul D. Tonko (NY-20), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12)

A copy of the letter is available here. 

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Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio. A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 119th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.