WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House earlier this month directed the Defense Department and NASA to gather details on billions of dollars in SpaceX contracts following the public blowout between President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, four people familiar with the order told Reuters.

The writer’s grandfather founded an agricultural empire, but destroyed his business and his family rather than cede control to his sons.

A reduced role for SpaceX would represent the first known setback to Musk's huge volume of business with the U.S. government since his break with Trump last week.