Elon Musk's SpaceX wins $5.9 billion Space Force contract while he leads DOGE's federal budget cuts

SpaceX won a $5.9 billion Space Force contract on April 4, 2025 — the same day Musk led DOGE budget reviews at the Pentagon

SpaceX received a separate $100 million NASA contract in February 2025 while DOGE reviewed NASA budgets

House Reps. Lynch and Connolly documented that Musk's companies held approximately $9.5 billion in DoD contracts during his DOGE tenure

SpaceX has accumulated more than $17 billion in total federal contracts since 2015, including $13 billion from NASA and nearly $8 billion from the Pentagon

A Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations minority staff report found that Musk himself — not an independent ethics officer — decided when he needed to recuse from decisions affecting his companies

DOGE gained authority to review Pentagon contracts before award, giving Musk visibility into competitor funding and procurement priorities

Federal conflict-of-interest law (18 U.S.C. § 208) prohibits executive branch employees from participating in government matters that directly affect their financial interests — but the White House designated Musk a 'special government employee' and left self-policing to him