House Lawmakers Express Concerns Over DOGE's NASA Interactions

NASA’s four Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, satellites at the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, March 2015. (NASA via AP)

House lawmakers have raised concerns over the Department of Government Efficiency's interactions with NASA, citing potential conflicts of interest. In a letter released on Friday, three Democrats in leadership positions within the House Science, Space and Technology Committee expressed 'deep alarm' over the lack of transparency surrounding DOGE's presence and activities within NASA.

The letter, dated February 21 and addressed to acting NASA chief Janet Petro, criticized the space agency for failing to provide answers to a list of questions and concerns previously raised by lawmakers. Specifically, NASA has not disclosed the name of the DOGE representative embedded at the agency, the information accessed by this individual, or the measures in place to prevent conflicts of interest.

NASA criticized for lack of transparency regarding DOGE representative.

House Democrats raise alarm over DOGE's presence at NASA.

Lawmakers demand answers on data access and conflict prevention measures.

The signatories of the letter include Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Valerie Foushee, and Emilia Sykes, who hold key positions within relevant House subcommittees. Concerns have been raised regarding Elon Musk's involvement with DOGE and the department's access to data across the federal government, leading to conflict of interest worries.

Of particular concern is NASA's possession of proprietary data from contractors, some of whom compete directly with SpaceX, a company with significant contracts with the space agency. The potential for conflicts of interest in this context has prompted lawmakers to demand greater transparency and accountability from both DOGE and NASA.