Latest news with #governmentContracts
NHK
4 days ago
- Business
- NHK
Trump says he has no plans to speak with Musk
US President Donald Trump has dismissed the idea of trying to fix his relationship with billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk anytime soon, in a sign of a deepening rift between the once close allies. Musk resigned from a key government post late last month. Their relationship has since been rapidly deteriorating over Trump's signature bill featuring tax cuts, which Musk has harshly criticized. The pair have been trading barbs on social media. On Friday, Trump told reporters he has been so busy working on many issues that he isn't thinking about Musk. He added, "I just wish him well." Asked whether he has any plans to speak with Musk, Trump said, "I don't have any plans," and added he is not even thinking about that. Trump also said Musk gets a lot of subsidies, hinting again at the possibility of reviewing government contracts with Musk's businesses. Meanwhile, Musk floated the idea of founding a new political party, citing the results of a poll on his social media platform X. He said in a post: "A new political party is needed in America to represent the 80% in the middle! And exactly 80% of people agree. This is fate."
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Trump live: US president ‘not interested' in talking to Musk, official says
The feud between United States President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk continues to simmer, with a White House official telling reporters that there are no plans for a call between the two tensions between Musk and Trump surfaced in a high-profile way on Thursday, with the president threatening to yank government contracts from Musk's companies and Musk suggesting Trump should be latest report from the Labor Department shows the US job market holding steady, with approximately 139,000 jobs added in May, despite economic turbulence from Trump's tariff military veterans are rallying in Washington, DC, to mark the anniversary of the D-Day offensive during World War II — and to show opposition to any cuts to their benefits. Update: Date: 3m ago (14:17 GMT) Title: Here's what has been happening this week Content: Trump has fallen out with his former adviser Elon Musk, with the billionaire bashing the president's tax bill and suggesting that he should be impeached. On Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions on International Criminal Court judges over their investigations of possible war crimes by Israel and US troops. And on Wednesday, Trump imposed a ban on travellers from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, and restrictions on seven others. Also this week, the US president spoke to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as the two countries agreed to resume trade talks. Update: Date: 5m ago (14:15 GMT) Title: Welcome to our coverage Content: Hello and thank you for joining our live coverage of United States President Donald Trump's administration. Stay with Al Jazeera's Live team as we bring you all the latest developments, analysis and reactions throughout the day.
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
How the Musk-Trump breakup could damage the U.S. space program
About $22 billion of SpaceX's government contracts are at risk and multiple U.S. space programs could face dramatic changes in the fallout from Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's explosive feud on Thursday. The disagreement, rooted in Musk's criticism of Trump's tax-cut and spending legislation that began last week, quickly spiraled out of control. Trump lashed out at Musk when the president spoke in the Oval Office. Then in a series of X posts, Musk launched barbs at Trump, who threatened to terminate government contracts with Musk's companies. Taking the threat seriously, Musk said he would begin 'decommissioning' SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft used by NASA. Hours later, however, Musk appeared to reverse course. Responding to a follower on X urging him and Trump to 'cool off and take a step back for a couple of days,' Musk wrote: 'Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon.' Still, Musk's mere threat to abruptly pull its Dragon spacecraft out of service marked an unprecedented outburst from one of NASA's leading commercial partners. Under a roughly $5 billion contract, the Dragon capsule has been the agency's only U.S. vessel capable of carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station, making Musk's company a critical element of the U.S. space program. The feud raised questions about how far Trump, an often unpredictable force who has intervened in past procurement efforts, would go to punish Musk, who until last week headed Trump's initiative to downsize the federal government. If the president prioritized political retaliation and canceled billions of dollars of SpaceX contracts with NASA and the Pentagon, it could slow U.S. space progress. NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens declined to comment on SpaceX, but said: 'We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the president's objectives in space are met.' Musk and Trump's tussle ruptured an extraordinary relationship between a U.S. president and industry titan that had yielded some key favors for SpaceX: a proposed overhaul of NASA's moon program into a Mars program, a planned effort to build a gigantic missile defense shield in space, and the naming of an Air Force leader who favored SpaceX in a contract award. Taking Dragon out of service would likely disrupt the ISS program, which involves dozens of countries under a two-decade-old international agreement. But it was unclear how quickly such a decommissioning would occur. NASA uses Russia's Soyuz spacecraft as a secondary ride for its astronauts to the ISS. SPACEX'S RISE SpaceX rose to dominance long before Musk's foray into Republican politics last year, building formidable market share in the rocket launch and satellite communications industries that could shield it somewhat from Musk's split with Trump, analysts said. 'It fortunately wouldn't be catastrophic, since SpaceX has developed itself into a global powerhouse that dominates most of the space industry, but there's no question that it would result in significant lost revenue and missed contract opportunities,' said Justus Parmar, CEO of SpaceX investor Fortuna Investments. Under Trump in recent months, the U.S. space industry and NASA's workforce of 18,000 have been whipsawed by looming layoffs and proposed budget cuts that would cancel dozens of science programs, while the U.S. space agency remains without a confirmed administrator. Trump's nominee for NASA administrator, Musk ally and billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman, appeared to be an early casualty of Musk's rift with the president when the White House abruptly removed him from consideration over the weekend, denying Musk his pick to lead the space agency. Trump on Thursday explained dumping Isaacman by saying he was 'totally Democrat,' in an apparent reference to reports Isaacman had donated to Democrats. Isaacman has donated to some Republican but mostly Democratic candidates for office, according to public records. Musk's quest to send humans to Mars has been a critical element of Trump's space agenda. The effort has threatened to take resources away from NASA's flagship effort to send humans back to the moon. Trump's budget plan sought to cancel Artemis moon missions beyond its third mission, effectively ending the over-budget Space Launch System rocket used for those missions. But the Senate Commerce Committee version of Trump's bill released late on Thursday would restore funding for missions four and five, providing at least $1 billion annually for SLS through 2029. Since SpaceX's rockets are a less expensive alternative to SLS, whether the Trump administration opposes the Senate's changes in the coming weeks will give an indication of Musk's remaining political power. SpaceX, founded in 2002, has won $15 billion of contracts from NASA for the company's Falcon 9 rockets and development of SpaceX's Starship, a multipurpose rocket system tapped to land NASA astronauts on the moon this decade. The company has also been awarded billions of dollars to launch a majority of the Pentagon's national security satellites into space while it builds a massive spy satellite constellation in orbit for a U.S. intelligence agency. In addition to not being in U.S. interests, former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver said canceling SpaceX's contracts would probably not be legal. But she also added, 'A rogue CEO threatening to decommission spacecraft, putting astronauts' lives at risk, is untenable.'
Wall Street Journal
23-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Booz Allen Hamilton Revenue, Outlook Below Estimates
Booz Allen BAH 0.55%increase; green up pointing triangle Hamilton posted revenue growth that came in below expectations in its latest quarter while its guidance for the current fiscal year also underwhelmed, sending its stock lower before the bell. The consulting firm on Friday said it recorded net income of $193 million, or $1.52 a share, for the fourth quarter ended March 31, up from $128 million, or 98 cents a share, in the prior-year period. Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted earnings were $1.61 a share, matching analysts' estimates. Revenue rose to $2.97 billion from $2.77 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $3.03 billion. 'We are using our leading positions in [artificial intelligence] and the advanced technology ecosystem to accelerate the administration's priorities,' said Chief Executive Horacio Rozanski. The McLean, Va., company has found itself in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has sought to cut federal contracts. Booz Allen generates nearly all its annual revenue from contracts in which the end client is a U.S. government agency or department. Booz Allen forecast fiscal 2026 revenue between $12 billion and $12.5 billion, as well as adjusted earnings per share of between $6.20 and $6.55. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $12.82 billion in revenue and $6.88 a share in adjusted earnings. Shares lost 12% to $114.25 in premarket trading. The stock was up about 0.3% on the year as of Thursday's close. Write to Denny Jacob at
