Elon Musk’s SpaceX Sues U.S. Attorney General, Alleges DOJ Complaint ‘Unconstitutional’

SpaceX, the private space company owned by Elon Musk, has fired back at the U.S. Department of Justice over the department's allegation that the company illegally discriminated against asylees and refugees in its hiring practices.

In a lawsuit filed Sept. 15, the company claimed that the Justice Department's administrative complaint alleging discriminatory hiring practices at SpaceX was both not factual accurate and unconstitutional.

The Justice Department complaint, filed on Aug. 23, alleges that between 2018 and 2022 SpaceX had discouraged asylees and refugees from applying for jobs due to their citizenship status. 

The DOJ complaint alleges that asylees were not hired even after being told by SpaceX recruiters that they had impressive credentials.

In their counter suit, SpaceX names U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and other Justice Department members as defendants. SpaceX says it "wants to hire the very best candidates for every job regardless of their citizenship status, and in fact has hired hundreds of noncitizens."

Lawyers for SpaceX argue in the suit that the administrative judge for the DOJ's case, appointed by Garland, was given powers reserved for officials who can only be appointed by the president. The lawyers also allege that by filing the case in an administrative court and seeking monetary damages, the Justice Department had denied SpaceX’s constitutional right to a trial by jury.

SpaceX has asked the administrative court to dismiss the case. SpaceX's lawyers did not immediately respond to The Messenger's request for comment.

The suit could prove a point of contention for another government agency, NASA. SpaceX enables the U.S. space agency to send astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station, and has key, multi-billion-dollar contracts to develop spacecraft and crew capsules for NASA's upcoming Artemis moon missions. SpaceX also plays a different geopolitical role in running Starlink, a satellite internet constellation that has become a lifeline to Ukraine in the country's fight against the Russian invasion — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has even described the Starlink fleet as an "essential tool" in the war in Ukraine.