Warren, Duckworth probe Air Force secretary nominee on dealings with Elon Musk
“These reports raise concerns about your ability, if confirmed as Secretary, to treat contractors fairly and prioritize the Air Force’s mission over Elon Musk’s business interests,” wrote Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Elizabeth Warren.
Dr. Troy E. Meink, deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space, answers questions during a space budget briefing March 5, 2014, at the Pentagon. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)
WASHINGTON—Two Democratic senators are raising alarms about Troy Meink, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Air Force, following reports that Elon Musk recommended Meink for the job after he pushed a lucrative satellite contract towards Musk’s SpaceX.
In a Feb. 27 letter to Meink, Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts asked Meink to disclose information about his relationship to Musk and whether Meink, in his role of principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, arranged a multibillion-dollar contract solicitation to favor SpaceX above other companies competing for the award, as reported by Reuters earlier this month.
“These reports raise concerns about your ability, if confirmed as Secretary, to treat contractors fairly and prioritize the Air Force’s mission over Elon Musk’s business interests,” wrote Duckworth and Warren, who as members of the Senate Armed Services Committee will have a role in evaluating Meink’s fitness for the Air Force secretary job.
Citing seven people familiar with the contract, Reuters reported that the NRO inspector general began an investigation into Meink’s role in a classified contract awarded to SpaceX in 2021 after noting changes to the program’s requirements. It is unclear whether the probe is still ongoing.
Duckworth and Warren said the Reuters report contained “incredibly serious allegations of misconduct and favoritism,” noting that as Air Force secretary, Meink would be involved in key contracting decisions that involve Musk and SpaceX directly, as well as determining whether the service will move forward with a crewed sixth-generation fighter, which Musk has criticized.
The senators requested answers by March 6 to a list of questions probing Meink’s dealings with Musk and SpaceX ahead of his nomination, whether Meink has ever been under investigation for his role in contracting decisions, and allegations from the Reuters report, including if he steered contracts toward SpaceX and threatened to withhold future contracts from L3Harris if it filed a protest.
Warren and Duckworth’s letter is the first sign of turbulence for Meink’s nomination, which initially appeared set to cruise through the confirmation process before the publication of the Reuters report.
Unlike Trump’s other service secretary picks, who have been relatively unknown in the national security realm, Meink is a familiar presence in the defense world, having served as deputy under secretary of the Air Force for space in the Obama administration before being tapped for the NRO job in 2020.
Meink met with SASC Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., last week. Wicker’s statement on the engagement makes no note of the allegations against Meink, with the senator saying that Meink “understands that air and space power are essential to America’s military rebuild under President Trump.”
SASC has not yet set a date for Meink’s confirmation hearing.
