diff --git a/cmd/flux/bootstrap_github.go b/cmd/flux/bootstrap_github.go
index c7e821ef42833e389d6286593409d8cdab3fdab4..f2775da9287f7ffdbade472396cc07ea62f431f4 100644
--- a/cmd/flux/bootstrap_github.go
+++ b/cmd/flux/bootstrap_github.go
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ func bootstrapGitHubCmdRun(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	defer os.RemoveAll(manifestsBase)
 
 	var caBundle []byte
-	if bootstrapArgs.caFile != " " {
+	if bootstrapArgs.caFile != "" {
 		var err error
 		caBundle, err = os.ReadFile(bootstrapArgs.caFile)
 		if err != nil {