Ahead of Confirmation Vote, Warren Urges Deputy Defense Secretary Nominee to Cut Ties to Company Suing the Pentagon for Billions

Feinberg could influence DoD response to Ligado’s $39 billion lawsuit, benefitting his family
Text of Letter (PDF)
Washington, D.C. –U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to Deputy Defense Secretary Nominee Stephen Feinberg, urging him to recuse himself from all matters related to Ligado Networks. Mr. Feinberg’s private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, is heavily invested in Ligado, which has a pending $39 billion lawsuit against the Department of Defense (DoD) over highly sought-after telecommunications spectrum space that the military has said is “essential for its various satellite communications, radars and navigation systems” usage.
Ligado is a mobile communications company that operates a satellite network and has been providing mobile satellite services to government and commercial customers for over 25 years. Cerberus is a major stakeholder in the company, holding an estimated $3.3 billion stake in Ligado. Ligado’s business model heavily depends on “its exclusive [Federal Communications Commission] license” granting it access to in-demand space on the electromagnetic spectrum, essential for satellite communications, radars, and navigation systems. DoD objected to the license,claimingthat Ligado’s use would cause “interference that would have a crippling effect on critical warfighting missions” and would “dangerously interferewith GPS signals widely used by the military, commercial aviation and myriad other industries.” In 2023, Ligado sued DoD and other agencies for $39 billion for damages to the company’s business model.
In hisethics agreement, Mr. Feinberg committed to resigning his role at Cerberus and to divest his holdings in Cerberus, which he could put in a trust “for the benefit of (his) adult children.” He also committed to consulting with an agency ethics official about his potential conflicts of interest and “take the measures necessary to resolve the conflict.” In response to pressure from Senator Warren, Mr. Feinberg committed to setting up a screening process to implement his recusals.
As second-in-command at the Pentagon, Mr. Feinberg would have the power to influence DoD’s posture towards the Ligado lawsuit. During the first Trump administration, then-Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquistmade“an in-person, classified case for why the Defense Department believes the commission’s approval of Ligado Networks spectrum plan will cause major harm to the Global Positioning System.” In response to Senator Warren’s questions for the record, Mr. Feinberg admitted that if the government loses or settles the case, Cerberus could profit as it “would most likely receive some portion of the settlement proceeds.”
“This is a clear conflict of interest, as you could deal your former company – and your adult children – a multi-billion-dollar windfall at the expense of American taxpayers,”wrote Senator Warren.
Senator Warren urged Mr. Feinberg to amend his ethics agreement to recuse himself from matters related to Ligado and its lawsuit with DoD. She also requested clarity from Mr. Feinberg on his ties to Ligado through Cerberus and Cerberus’ potential profits if the case is settled or won by Ligado.
Senator Warren has sought to protect servicemembers and national security by pushing defense nominees to resolve their conflicts of interest:
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