Governor Newsom and Elon Musk at Tesla’s new global engineering and AI headquarters in Palo Alto. (Photo: Gov.ca.gov)
California Coastal Commission Faces Growing Backlash for Denying SpaceX Launches
Adding to the growing storm was Gov. Newsom coming out on the side of Musk
By Evan Symon, October 25, 2024 2:45 am
The California Coastal Commission faced growing backlash this week for their decision earlier this month to deny SpaceX more rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base because of commissioners disagreeing with comments made by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Earlier in 2024, SpaceX and the U.S. Space Force planned for additional launches from Vandenberg SFB – as many as 50 launches per year. However, in order to do that, state permissions were needed, even if the federal government had already signed off. As it is near the coast, the Space Force needed permission from the California Coastal Commission (CCC) for the increased number of launches.
Earlier this month, the CCC voted 6 to 4 during a meeting in San Diego against more launches. Officially, the reason was that Space X wouldn’t have to get their own permits for a military launch, even if nothing from the military was being launched.
“I do believe that the Space Force has failed to establish that SpaceX is a part of the federal government, part of our defense,” said CCC Commissioner Dayna Bochco on Thursday.
However, two commissioners said Elon Musk’s comments on X and his recent political activities influenced the denial.
“Elon Musk is hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking FEMA while claiming his desire to help the hurricane victims with free Starlink access to the internet,” said Commissioner Gretchen Newsom, who is not related to Governor Gavin Newsom. “It appears that rather than prioritizing the welfare of SpaceX employees and the environment, the focus has been on profit maximization.”
Commission chairwoman Caryl Hart added, “You could argue that it’s bringing in politics, but this is a political matter to some extent because it involves the US government, it involves the Coastal Commission. We are dealing with a company, the head of which has aggressively injected himself into the presidential race.”
Musk immediately vowed to sue the CCC for first amendment violations and did so last week. Others also called out the CCC, including Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R-Riverside) who demanded all communications about Elon Musk and SpaceX from the CCC in a formal public records request. Adding to the growing storm was Governor Newsom coming out on the side of Musk last weekend, agreeing with Republican colleagues that politics should not have played a decision in the vote. It was also the first time on record that Newsom came out in opposition his own hand-picked coastal commissioners.
A rare Newsom, Musk agreeance
“I’m with Elon,” said Newsom during a Harris/Walz campaign event in North Carolina. “I didn’t like that. Look, I’m not helping the legal case. You can’t bring up that explicit level of politics. These are friends of mine that said that. These are good commissioners. But you got to call balls and strikes. And trust me, I’m not big on the Elon Musk bandwagon right now. So that’s me calling balls and strikes.”
This week brought even more support from Washington. Congressman Vince Fong (R-CA) wrote his own letter to the CCC:
“I have grave concerns over their decision, with commissioners citing personal animus to justify what should have been a non-political decision. As a member of Congress, I believe that government decisions should be made in a fair and impartial manner, without regard to political views.
“In all my years in public service, I have never heard of a commission discussing politics as the basis for official action. This seems to be an egregious use of political discrimination to punish a specific company.”
With pressure coming now from both the state and federal level now, and from both parties, the CCC has remained quiet on the issue, likely in part due to Musk’s active lawsuit. Even worse for the CCC is that many other lawmakers will likely be supporting Musk’s lawsuit after Election Day.
“I can’t say who, but I do know of others here in Sacramento who will be writing to the CCC as well once elections are done with,” Dana, a Capitol staffer told the Globe on Thursday. “I know Newsom did it, but many don’t want to be seen supporting Musk publicly, even if it is just for SpaceX launches, until after the election. It’s why you haven’t seen other Democrats go after the CCC decision yet and so many Republicans who have.
“And remember here, it’s because why some of the Commissioners said no to the launches. They made it personal. You cannot make decisions on a personal level. That’s why lawyers and lawmakers recuse themselves from things they have a personal stake in or are related to somebody there or something like that.”
Aerospace consultant Miles Green added, “With the lawsuit, SpaceX can bring this back around. And all they have to show is that the SpaceX launches have military value. Rejections under that sort of basis are common enough, so you just bolster your next application or request. That decision making it personal was highly unusual though. You can’t get personal on decisions like that, and they did.”
More on the lawsuit is to come out soon.
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Wow. Gruesome Newscum calling the “balls and strikes”…..and who would believe that he has the capacity to call them fairly? No. This is damage control. The CCC is way out over their skis on this one; even more than they usually are. Vandenberg AFB (now SFB) was always, and still is, used for testing ballistic missiles and launching military and civilian satellites. The CCC and the other ridiculous commissions like CARB need to be abolished along with their suffocating decrees.
Mr. Musk “THROW NEWSOM UNDER THE BUS!!! & make sure he has tire tracks down the middle of his face, as you leave the state taking all of your companies with you!!!
The coastal commission was put into their soap box position by him, along with the other illegally unauthorized boards (like CARB) that were NEVER voted on by the people of this state!! These commissions don’t have constitutional authority to impose whatever they want upon the rest of us. Now the Governor (who has had a change of political heart, because he is starting to see just how STUPID the ideas really are that have been coming out of his butthole!!
Governor!! You need to be held accountable (along with both houses of the state legislature)!! Do the state of California [as well as the rest of the country] a great favor and go back to your vineyard and make wine, & stay out of politics!! Destroying this beautiful state of California will be your legacy!!! And nothing more.
Bills of attainder are a thing. California commissions don’t care about the law. They’re for their progressive stupidity over the people they represent. If the founding fathers were exposed to this they’d revolt and take back their government. Oh, wait. That’s EXACTLY what they did. Time to resurrect similar actions? Possibly.
Bills of attainder are a thing in the US Constitution. It appears twice, if I’m not mistaken. California commissions don’t care about the law. They’re for their progressive stupidity over the people they represent. If the founding fathers were exposed to this they’d revolt and take back their government. Oh, wait. That’s EXACTLY what they did. Time to resurrect similar actions? Possibly.
All grandstanding: Ultimately the Costal Commission has no exerciseable authority in the matter.
Shocked/not shocked
This is what is meant when progressives say we need a “whole of government” response. Every agency and every government employee is focused on a single goal, which in this case is to defeat all opposition., whether it be Elon Musk or President Trump. The Coastal Commission or the Secret Service, the IRS, or FEMA thus distort their original missions to serve political purposes. It is the most damaging aspect of progressive politics.
In this case, all the commissioners who voted to deny the launches should be removed from the commission.
I have had the unpleasant experience of attending California Coastal Commission public hearings involving various Commission policies and rulings. I witnessed staff fabricating data and lying to the commissioners. I have seen commissioners so out of touch and clueless about the issue being considered that one time a commissioner told staff “I’m a little lost here. You know how I want to vote. Should I vote yes or no?”
No oversight, unelected, out of control and completely populated by ideological fanatics who could care less about the people they harm.
If the California Coastal Commission was useless it would be an improvement!!
They are a worthless agency whose primary purpose is to shill for the DNC and promote the Global Boiling con.
The CC is totally unconstitutional. No where is there room for unelected autocrats to have dictatorial power over vast amounts of land. The Chevron defense demise makes all their “rules” that are enforced as law are totally null and void. It is time to take out the Marxist Trash.
What will be the consequences of the unethical and quite possibly illegal activities of the Commissioners?
Will the CA attorney general step up and do his job to investigate and prosecute them?
It’s apparent the CA Dem machine – the CA cabal – has run completely amuck. Their effort to become the uniparty is the worst possible outcome for Californians and the country as a whole. This CCC saga is but one example of the rot that is spreading in the state government.
This is why all Democrats need to be voted out of office. I’ve never seen such corruption in state government as we have now with the Democrats. It’s off the charts now. The California Coastal Commission needs be disbanded. They no longer serve the public good.
Bring back Space X to California. This is what I will fight for if I am elected to Oakland City Council At Large this November. Oakland and California needs the development in science, industry and manufacturing that Elon Musk and Space X is creating. This is our future and the future for our children. I will create a $100 million development bank for Oakland to bring in this kind of innovation and clean out the Wall Street debt from our budget.
Vote Donald Trump for President and Vote Mindy Pechenuk for Oakland City Council At Large