President Donald Trump's new administration may eliminate the White House's National Space Council, a Cabinet policy group that lobbyists for Elon Musk's SpaceX have been pushing to eliminate, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Trump aide and top SpaceX lobbyist Mat Dunn has told colleagues in recent months that they view the National Space Council's work as a "waste of time," according to sources, raising questions about the council's fate and whether Vice President Vance is interested in serving as its chairman as required by law.
After Trump was elected, his team contacted NASA and other agencies about transition plans, but not the National Space Council, one of the sources said. The source said the offices of the committee's staff near the White House have mostly been cleared.
The disbanding of the National Space Council would be an early sign of SpaceX's impact on space policy under Trump. Musk, the SpaceX CEO who spent $250 million to help Trump return to the White House, maintained a close relationship with the incoming president and agreed on plans for a Mars mission during Trump's second term.