Silicon Valley Democrats demanded a government-wide investigation into interruptions of SpaceX's Starshield service in Ukraine, pressing the White House to identify who ordered the restrictions that Ukrainian officials say hampered their military operations.
A group of Silicon Valley House Democrats sent a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Friday demanding an immediate government-wide investigation into the interruption of SpaceX's Starshield satellite service in Ukraine, escalating congressional pressure over a controversy that has left key questions of accountability unanswered.
The letter was led by California Democratic Representatives Sam Liccardo, Ro Khanna, and Jimmy Panetta. It called on the White House to identify who "authorized, directed, approved, or [were] consulted about the restrictions" on Starshield — the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink service — that Ukrainian officials say limited their forces' ability to intercept Russian attacks and conduct front-line operations.
Ukrainian officials told CNN on Friday that restrictions remained in place, despite President Donald Trump's claim Thursday that Elon Musk had restored access.
At the core of the lawmakers' inquiry is a question that neither the administration nor SpaceX has resolved: whether Trump ordered the service restrictions or whether Musk, a private citizen, made that decision unilaterally. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Musk ordered the restrictions, and later that they were lifted following a phone call between Trump and Musk. Trump has repeatedly denied ordering any disruption.
"Either a private contractor independently made life-and-death national security decisions, or President Trump directed the restriction of critical military communications supporting a U.S. ally," the lawmakers wrote.
The letter makes explicit that the Starshield controversy will become a formal investigative target if Democrats win control of the House in the November 3 midterm election, which would grant them committee-level subpoena power. "We will ensure that the 120th Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Mr. Musk's businesses, including whether these companies meet their contractual obligations, and whether adequate safeguards exist against political interference, arbitrary service restrictions, and misuse of federal resources," they wrote.
The lawmakers also asked whether the restrictions violated existing federal contracts and whether comparable vulnerabilities existed in other SpaceX-serviced areas.
Ukrainian forces have depended on Starshield to conduct military operations throughout a Russian invasion that began more than four years ago. The officials said the restrictions disrupted high-speed military drones, directly hampering Ukraine's defensive and offensive capabilities.
The letter invoked the economic stakes of the controversy for the lawmakers' home district. "As Silicon Valley's elected members in Congress, we represent hundreds of innovation economy employers and workers whose livelihoods depend on the credibility of American technology abroad," they wrote, arguing that politically motivated service interruptions risked undermining trust in U.S. technology companies with allies and customers worldwide.
SpaceX and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The letter arrives amid a broader political moment for SpaceX, which is separately reported to be in private talks to lease 80,000 cell towers as part of an effort to build a fourth nationwide wireless carrier by combining its Starlink direct-to-device network with ground infrastructure — a commercial expansion that would put Musk's company in direct competition with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
Whether Democrats win the majority or not, the dispute over who controls access to a critical military communications network — a private company's CEO or the commander in chief — is now firmly on the congressional agenda, with no clear resolution from either party in sight.
TechEchelon Staff bylines are produced collectively by the newsroom for short, breaking, and wire-style coverage. Longer-form reporting is published under the responsible reporter's name.
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