1. United States
2. Utah
3. Letter

Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey should be removed from Project Meridian, or barred from holding Pentagon contracts for as long as they serve on it. Putting weapons contractors in charge of shaping defense strategy — when that strategy could funnel them tens or hundreds of billions in future contracts — is a textbook conflict of interest. Congress needs to act on this now. SpaceX and Anduril have already received billions in Pentagon contracts, and both companies are competing for roles in the proposed Golden Dome missile defense system, which experts across the political spectrum estimate could cost over a trillion dollars. Letting Musk and Luckey write the strategy that determines which weapons we buy is like letting a contractor design the building inspection process for their own projects. No one who sits on a panel shaping national defense strategy should be allowed to profit from its recommendations. That's a bright line, and right now it's being erased.