Trump DOT Pick Says He’ll Review FAA’s SpaceX Penalties

(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the US Transportation Department said he’d review penalties aviation regulators have proposed against SpaceX if confirmed to the role.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Transportation Secretary nominee Sean Duffy told senators during a hearing on Wednesday that he’d also look into “what’s been happening at the FAA with regard to the launches,” referring to the US Federal Aviation Administration.

ADVERTISEMENT

The FAA in September proposed hitting SpaceX with as much as $633,009 in civil penalties over allegations that the rocket company led by Elon Musk violated license requirements during two rocket launches in 2023. The move drew the ire of Musk, who described the proposal as “lawfare” and threatened to sue the FAA for “regulatory overreach.” A spokesperson for the FAA said Wednesday that the cases around the proposed penalties remain open.

Duffy, if confirmed, will lead a department that directly oversees two of Musk’s businesses, SpaceX and his car company Tesla Inc. His comments during the hearing showcase how he’ll have to navigate the priorities of the outspoken billionaire who’s also become a close adviser to Trump and spent millions of dollars to help the president-elect and other Republican candidates during the 2024 election.

Musk and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell have heaped criticism on the FAA’s space office for holding back the company’s launch schedule. Shotwell said the agency must “go faster” with launch approvals, while Musk has called for the leader of the FAA to resign.

FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker announced plans to step down from the job on Jan. 20 when Trump is inaugurated. Trump hasn’t yet announced whom he’ll pick as Whitaker’s successor.

Duffy’s comments on SpaceX came in response to questions from Senator Ted Cruz, the Republican chair of the Senate Commerce Committee.

ADVERTISEMENT

Cruz said fines like the one imposed by the FAA are “corrosive.” He asked Duffy to commit to reviewing the penalties and “more broadly to curtailing bureaucratic overreach and accelerating launch approvals at FAA’s commercial space office.”

Earlier in the hearing, Duffy touched on another issue that’s close to Musk’s heart — self-driving cars. He said he’d support a federal framework for the vehicles, which is something Musk has also advocated for.

Without that, “I think we put ourselves behind those countries that allow for innovators to expand and grow,” Duffy said.

At the same time, he vowed not to let outside pressure dictate the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s ongoing probe into Tesla, which stems from concerns that a newly released driver-assistance feature could result in crashes.

“I will let NHTSA do their investigation,” Duffy told lawmakers.

ADVERTISEMENT

(Updates with an additional comment from Duffy on Tesla probe in last two paragraphs.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.