California Coastal Commission faces more fallout from SpaceX decision, this time from Congress

Andrew Sheeler, The Sacramento Bee on Jan 14, 2025

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U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., on Tuesday announced his intention to file a bill that would strip the California Coastal Commission of its authority to review certain activities relating to national security, critical infrastructure or with a high economic impact.

This comes months after the commission voted to bar SpaceX — the private space venture owned by billionaire and Donald Trump ally Elon Musk — from making additional launches at the Vandenberg Space Force Base on California’s Central Coast.

Commissioners at the time cited SpaceX’s history of workplace-related injuries and allegations of a toxic workplace culture, as well as Musk’s history of “hopping around the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods” on Trump’s behalf.

The decision prompted Musk to sue (that lawsuit is ongoing) and also prompted both Republican and Democratic politicians — including both Assemblymember Bill Essayli, R-Corona, and Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat — to weigh in as critical of the commission.

“I’m with Elon,” Newsom told Poltico.

Essayli has introduced his own bill, which has yet to be heard in committee, to overturn the commission’s decision.

On Tuesday, Kiley said in a statement that the “Coastal Zone Management Act was never intended to allow state agencies to prioritize partisan considerations over national security and economic progress.”

“The commission’s vote to block additional launches at Vandenberg undermines our national defense readiness and threatens California’s leadership in aerospace innovation, and its history of irrational decision-making could threaten rebuilding efforts in the Los Angeles area,” Kiley said.

Commission spokesperson Joshua Smith told The Bee in an email that “we’re not currently commenting on this proposed legislation.”

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