'King-like power': FAA purge raises suspicions that Elon Musk's SpaceX may rake in profit

President Donald Trump's administration continues to purge government workers across all departments, raising questions about the future of the Federal Aviation Administration and air traffic controllers.

Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson and Andrew Perez wrote Monday that even after the recent crash in Washington, D.C., the Trump administration is still purging staff at the safety regulatory agency.

Trump hired SpaceX CEO Elon Musk as a special government employee to find ways to fire thousands of government employees to save federal dollars. The reporters spoke to an FAA employee impacted by the cuts who did airman certifications, essentially ensuring pilots were medically cleared to fly. The report pointed out that it's an important role given the pilot shortage.

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"We were already behind," the employee said. "The pilots already complained that there's a shortage in getting their medical certification [approved]. It's just going to be put further behind now."

The person also said that the group never thought it would happen to them.

"Especially with all the aviation crashes and things going on, all the safety issues that are already out there," they said.

Notably, the FAA regulates SpaceX, "presenting a significant conflict of interest," the report said, describing Musk as having "king-like powers."

The report recalled Musk's past clashes with the agency. At one point Musk complained, "The fundamental problem is that humanity will forever be confined to Earth unless there is radical reform at the FAA!"

SpaceX has been fined more than $633,000 because the company ignored the rules outlined for its rockets to be launched.

"Now, with Musk acting as the de facto head of government under Trump, that radical reform is underway," the report said. "The administration's invitation of SpaceX engineers to help re-imagine federal air-traffic control is giving fresh evidence to critics who believe that the end goal of DOGE is not to create efficiencies within government, but to degrade federal expertise within government agencies like the FAA so they are forced to turn to for-profit companies, effectively privatizing essential government service."

The report concluded that the purge is not only about cutting government spending but also purging "a disagreeable cop from the SpaceX beat." Meanwhile, Musk is creating his own company that could score contracts for U.S. air safety.

Politico reported Monday morning that Musk's SpaceX team was visiting the FAA command center to look at ways to "improve."