Press Releases

ICYMI: Musk Just Scored More Government Cash While Pushing Education Cuts [The Lever]

Feb 12, 2025

More for me, none for thee––that’s the billionaire MO in Trump’s corrupt cabinet. A report from The Lever explains how Musk’s SpaceX just pocketed millions of taxpayer dollars through a new contract with NASA, all while dismantling agencies that protect and assist working families. NASA is now under the control of Musk’s billionaire friend Jared Isaacman, who also happens to run a payment processing company that was regulated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau––until Musk dismantled it.

When billionaires funnel government contracts to themselves and eliminate oversight, they call it “business.” But when working families rely on programs and agencies to afford education or protect themselves from financial predators, they call it “fraud.” This is a full-scale heist of taxpayer dollars.

The Lever: Musk Just Scored More Government Cash While Pushing Education Cuts

David Sirota

02/11/2025

As Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was reportedly canceling Department of Education contracts in the name of frugality, Musk’s rocket company was this week cementing a NASA contract adding millions of dollars to its already massive deal with the space agency, according to government documents reviewed by The Lever.

The new “supplemental” contract dated Feb. 10 adds $7.5 million to SpaceX’s NASA work, according to Federal Procurement Data System records. The overall transaction obligated $38 million to Musk’s company, as part of its overall deal with NASA. The agency has already committed $3.9 billion to the SpaceX project, which is estimated to cost up to $4.4 billion by the middle of President Donald Trump’s term.

The new agreement says it is for “work required for the design, development, manufacture, test, launch, demonstration, and engineering support of the Human Landing System (HLS) Integrated Lander.”

Musk’s DOGE has not announced it is targeting or reviewing NASA contracts for cuts.

Trump has nominated Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator. Isaacman is a billionaire Musk associate who runs a payment processing company that is regulated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which Musk has been trying to dismantle.

Last month, Isaacman’s company was fined by federal securities regulators for not properly disclosing millions of dollars of payments to company executives’ relatives.

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