What's astatine involvement successful Musk-Trump online spat
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asking Secretary of State Marco Rubio for accusation connected the Trump administration's contingency plans if billionaire Elon Musk breaches his companies' existent contracts with the U.S. amid the ongoing nationalist autumn out betwixt him and President Trump.
In a missive to Rubio arsenic acting nationalist information advisor and obtained by CBS News, Warren said Mr. Trump and Musk's public disagreements astir the upcoming reconciliation measure that escalated into a nationalist online spat could "have superior implications for U.S. nationalist security."
The Massachusetts Democrat mentioned Mr. Trump's connection to terminate Musk's authorities contracts and subsidies, which the world's richest antheral followed with a menace that SpaceX would "begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately." Musk has since walked backmost his threat.
"No petty societal media combat betwixt the president and a billionaire should jeopardize U.S. nationalist security," Warren said.
In summation to contingency plans for SpaceX, the legislator asked for accusation regarding the interaction connected U.S. agencies' outer communications if Musk's Starlink is turned off. Additionally, she asked Rubio to supply immoderate investigation that the Trump medication has conducted "of its authorities and options nether the Defense Production Act to code vendor lock, monopolies, oregon contractor refusal to conscionable nationalist information needs."
She asked to person answers to her questions by June 14, whether done a classified briefing oregon preferably a nationalist effect that tin beryllium released to Congress and the public, the missive said.
Warren has been a vocal hostile of Musk and his engagement successful the Trump administration. Last week, she released a study that outlines instances her bureau has recovered of Musk benefiting from it.
Musk's rocket institution has received tens of billions of dollars from the national authorities implicit the past decade, including $3.8 cardinal successful the 2024 fiscal twelvemonth alone, according to federal records.
The bulk of those national grants are from NASA, which has paid SpaceX billions implicit the past decade to ferry astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station. The bureau has besides awarded SpaceX upwards of $2 billion successful caller years to plan and physique a lunar lander, arsenic portion of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the satellite for the archetypal clip successful a half-century.
While the nationalist spat appears to person cooled somewhat, Mr. Trump told NBC News' Kristen Welker successful a telephone interview connected Saturday that helium has no plans to marque up with the mega-billionaire.
"I'm excessively engaged doing different things," Trump continued. "You know, I won an predetermination successful a landslide. I gave him a batch of breaks, agelong earlier this happened, I gave him breaks successful my archetypal administration, and saved his beingness successful my archetypal administration, I person nary volition of speaking to him."
When asked by a newsman Friday if he's inactive considering rolling backmost subsidies to Musk arsenic a money-saving move, Mr. Trump suggested helium was unfastened to it.
"He's got a batch of money, helium gets a batch of subsidy. So we'll instrumentality a look astatine that," the president said connected Air Force One. "Only if it's just for him and for the country. I would surely deliberation astir it, but it has to beryllium fair."
This isn't the archetypal clip the president has needled Musk implicit his companies' national subsidies. In a 2022 feud, Mr. Trump claimed Musk would beryllium "worthless" without hefty subsidies for "electric cars that don't thrust agelong enough" and "rocketships to nowhere."
The two mended their relationship past and Musk spent hundreds of millions to assistance elite Mr. Trump successful 2024. The billionaire went connected to pb the Trump White House's cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency until past week.
Joe Walsh contributed to this report.
Lucia Suarez Sang is an subordinate managing exertion astatine CBSNews.com. Previously, Lucia was the manager of integer contented astatine FOX61 News successful Connecticut and has antecedently written for outlets including FoxNews.com, Fox News Latino and the Rutland Herald.
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