FAA Might Drop Verizon for Starlink as Elon Musk Controls U.S. Government

The FAA is currently “close” to canceling a major contract with Verizon in favor of Elon Musk’s Starlink, according to a bombshell new report from the Washington Post. In another era, one company winning a big government contract over another company wouldn’t be a huge deal. But in the era of DOGE, Musk is essentially running the entire federal government from top to bottom. And it looks an awful lot like self-dealing.

The $2.4 billion contract was awarded to Verizon in 2023, according to the Post, and upgrades the systems that allow FAA offices to communicate with air traffic control facilities. But Musk has been critical of Verizon in recent days, writing on X Monday that its system “is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk.” Musk provided no evidence for his claim.

Employees at SpaceX, the parent company of Starlink, have reportedly been working at the FAA and have even received FAA email addresses, according to the Post. But there’s no transparency about what Musk and his DOGE team are actually doing inside the agency. And news about Starlink potentially getting a contract raises enormous red flags. Especially since the proper process for unwinding the Verizon contract “has not been followed,” according to the Post.

Typically, even the appearance of a conflict of interest is a major issue when it comes to government contracts. But having a guy like Musk and his team of DOGE goons rummaging through FAA at a time when one of Musk’s private companies might be awarded a contract? That’s uncharted waters for self-dealing in the U.S.

Musk says Starlink is already getting up and running on FAA systems, but the billionaire is trying to portray the move as something either temporary or purely charitable.

“To be clear here, the Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly,” Musk tweeted Thursday, without providing evidence.

“The FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk,” Musk continued.

Again, Musk isn’t providing any clarity on what he means. But he stresses that the taxpayer isn’t paying Starlink at the moment.

“The Starlink terminals are being sent at NO COST to the taxpayer on an emergency basis to restore air traffic control connectivity. The situation is extremely dire,” Musk concluded.

Musk hasn’t explained what is so dire about the situation, but there’s no doubting that his own cuts have made things more dangerous at the FAA. At least 400 FAA employees were recently laid off, many of which worked on “critical systems,” according to the Associated Press. And yet Musk says the FAA needs more air traffic controllers, something that was certainly true even before Musk started laying off thousands of workers.

Musk tweeted on Thursday “There is a shortage of top notch air traffic controllers. If you have retired, but are open to returning to work, please consider doing so.”

Musk and DOGE are currently destroying entire agencies, from USAID to CFPB, while insisting that they’re just looking for waste, fraud, and abuse. But Musk has yet to present a single example of waste, fraud, or abuse, and instead will cut a program that he simply doesn’t like. That’s illegal, of course, since Congress has the power to decide what gets funded and what doesn’t. But with Republicans in control of both the House and the Senate, it doesn’t seem like anything is going to stop Musk from continuing to rampage through the government.

What about the courts? There are countless lawsuits filed against Musk and Trump. But there’s already evidence that Trump’s Department of Justice is simply not complying with court orders. The Supreme Court intervened late Wednesday to decide on whether Trump must restore funding for many programs that have been cut, something that lawyers must present their case on by mid-day Friday.

Musk spoke at what was ostensibly President Trump’s cabinet meeting on Wednesday, and suggested that he alone was deciding what was worth cutting and what was worth saving. The billionaire is running the country now, for all intents and purposes, and it doesn’t seem like anything will stop him. Not the courts, not Congress, and certainly not President Trump. Because Musk and Trump need each other. And that’s not going to change anytime soon.

The FAA and SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. The U.S. Digital Service, which has been rebranded as DOGE in order to operate, also did not respond. Gizmodo will update this post if we hear back.