Senators Call for Investigation Into Elon Musk’s Foreign Starlink Push

A group of Democratic senators is calling out SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for allegedly “exploiting” his influence in the Trump administration to pressure foreign governments into greenlighting Starlink access in their countries. 

“Public servants must serve Americans, not their own bank accounts,” the 13 senators wrote in a 5-page letter to President Trump. 

On Friday, Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) announced the letter, which calls for the White House to investigate Musk over concerns he misused his position as a special government employee to “advance his personal business interests abroad.”

The senators filed the letter after a Washington Post column brought up how a growing number of countries, including Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, have been granting or moving faster to let Starlink operate within their borders — all within the last few months. The column claims Musk himself discussed receiving regulatory clearance to operate Starlink in Bangladesh during a meeting with an envoy, who came to the White House in February to talk trade. 

“The apparent implication, though it wasn’t stated outright, was that one of the world’s largest textile exporters would not be able to get favorable trade terms from the United States if Starlink wasn’t allowed entry into the Bangladeshi market,” the Washington Post column reported. 

Warner is now weighing in, saying: “These allegations, if true, would constitute a serious violation of federal ethics laws and a profound breach of public trust.” The 5-page letter, signed by the 13 senators, also claimed that Musk might be leveraging his influence to push Starlink in trade talks with India and South Africa. 

“We condemn in the strongest terms allowing Musk any influence on US trade posture towards South Africa to coerce that country to cater to Musk’s personal interests,” the letter adds. 

Despite the concerns, the call for an investigation appears to be more of a symbolic gesture since it’s doubtful Trump would ever launch a probe into Musk, a close ally. Others, such as Musk supporter FCC Chair Brendan Carr, have been urging European allies to adopt Starlink over Chinese satellite technologies, which the State Department has started to echo. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department is considering a change to open more funding from a $42.5 billion federal program to Starlink.

SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In the meantime, the company’s Starlink service is already available in over 120 markets and has attracted over 5 million users. 

About Michael Kan

Senior Reporter

I’ve been working as a journalist for over 15 years—I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017.

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