A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis says an important figure in the Donald Trump administration tacitly supports relocating NASA headquarters to Florida.
But there’s a business reason that Elon Musk can’t say it out loud.
“On the NASA headquarters, this is one of the things I raised with Elon and I think he’s supportive of having the headquarters there (at Cape Canaveral). But he also recuses himself from issues regarding NASA just because he has SpaceX,” the Governor said in Palm Bay at the Ted Moorhead Lagoon House.
DeSantis met last week with Musk, who is helming cost-cutting efforts at the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE).
The Governor has made no secret that he would like NASA in Florida in recent weeks. His comments Tuesday pointed to DOGE leading the way and changing plans to build a new NASA facility in the Washington, D.C., area to occupy when the current HQ’s lease expires in 2028.
DeSantis predicted that DOGE “is going to nix the headquarters and then it’s just a question of where the administration wants to move NASA headquarters.” He added that the Space Coast is “as good a place as any” given that Florida is “where most of the launches occur.”
And even though DeSantis doesn’t see Musk being able to weigh in without conflict-of-interest issues being raised, he believes Florida is helped by “the fact that Elon’s involved in the administration, even though he’s not having decision involvement on the things that could potentially affect his business.”
“I think clearly you have a commitment from the President and the administration to continue expanding our horizons in space. And it’s something I think will be good for this area,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis said last month that he wants the proposed build in the nation’s capital stopped, in part, because “nobody shows up to work there anyways.”
On Tuesday, he argued that NASA should be relocated because of a “toxic culture” in the Washington area.
“They don’t need to be in Washington, D.C. I want to get these agencies out of Washington, D.C. It’s a swamp. It’s a toxic culture because all this power is accumulated there, whether it’s the House, the Senate, the bureaucrats … and that’s not what the Founding Fathers intended,” DeSantis argued.
If NASA doesn’t change its plans, it seeks “approximately 375,000 to 525,000 square feet of office space to house NASA’s workforce” with walkability and mass transit options preferred.
“The desired location is within walking distance to a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority station. In addition, the new location also needs parking options, as well as convenient access to food establishments,” the RFP from last November reads.
