FAA Might Drop Verizon for Starlink as Elon Musk Controls U.S. Government

A few weeks ago I asked some folks the following question:

over the last 12 years, Musk has donated millions of dollars to a lot of campaigns, on both sides, in return for billions in subsidies, tax breaks, grants and low interest loans.
Now, after donating about $288B in 2024 to get Trump elected, and spending every day in the White House, do you really think that with this level of investment, that this time he's not in it for himself?

Most folks replied with: "richest man in the world, doesn't need any more"
To which I said, his net worth is almost entirely stock in his companies. To remain as wealthy as he currently is, to continue to qualify for those huge, low interest loans he takes against that stock value net worth, those companies have to continue to perform well, at least until he cashes out.

Let's look at the score at just a month in:
-NLRB, with open cases on Musk companies effectively shut down by removing the board members.
-CFPB, working 300 complaints against Tesla, director fired and bureau closed.
-USAID IG investigating Starlink terminals provided to Ukraine, USAID shut down.
-USDA IG investigating Neuralink, IG fired
-EPA multiple lawsuits already settled with Tesla over Clean Air Act and haz waste laws, IG fired.
-FEC still pending ruling on Musk's America PAC, chairwoman removed
-DOI multiple clashes over SpaceX launch site in TX, IG fired
-DOD multiple reviews over reporting and foreign disclosure requirements for SpaceX, IG fired
-DOJ lawsuit against SpaceX, investigations into Tesla, DOJ leadership fired.
-SEC lawsuite against X, Trump vowed to fire SEC Chair on "day one" chair stepped down
-OGE (ethics) investigating conflict of interest for Musk as Special Govt Employee, Director fired

-a $2.4B FAA contract, already awarded to Verizon, now moving to Starlink

That's already a helluva start, just wondering how much more $288M buys these days.

Question... No where in any of the reporting do I see an FAA official stating they are looking to end the Verizon contract. Only that there are ongoing tests for Starlink in a couple of locations and that Elon initially stated Starlink would modernize the current infrastructure (which he initially stated was Verizon). He later corrected himself on X after Verizon pointed out the current infrastructure was built by L3Harris. So, ok, get your facts straight Elon, but again, who from the FAA stated they are considering ending a 15 year contract with Verizon? That decision is not up to Musk and if he were to recommend the Verizon contract be cancelled, he would then rightfully be criticized from preventing the FAA from modernizing their communications. DOGE would need to come up with some very good reasons on why the contract was no good or inefficient.

As of yet, two things have not happened. No one from the FAA (or even DOGE) has confirmed they are considering cancelling the contract, and DOGE has not added the contract on their list to have cancelled. All we know is DOGE (Musk) paid a visit to the FAA and he made an erroneous statement on who is responsible for the current infrastructure, tying it to what Verizon has been tasked to build.
Seems to me, that Musk already missed the boat for this contract (or maybe he lost the bid). It's a 15 year deal and I have no idea if it is setup on an option basis from year to year (not likely for something like this). So to cancel, this would mean the FAA would lose money on what was already accomplished, along with any penalty fees. In the end, it appears Musk spoke off the cuff incorrectly, retracted the statement about Verizon vs Starlink, and everyone is now still assuming the FAA is looking at cancelling the contract, when no one from the FAA has confirmed this.