Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service is now available at the White House, the New York Times reported, exacerbating conflict of interest concerns that are growing with each day the world’s richest person spends at the heart of government.
Karoline Leavitt, Donald Trump’s White House press secretary, said the installation was done to “improve wifi connectivity on the complex”.
But it prompted a security alert when a Musk employee accessed the roof of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next door to the White House.
The Musk employee, Christopher Stanley, also works for the so-called “department of government efficiency”, or Doge, through which the world’s richest person is overseeing aggressive cuts to federal staffing and budgets at Trump’s behest.
According to the Times, Stanley’s work was approved by the Secret Service but no time had been agreed upon. On the Eisenhower roof, Stanley tripped an alarm – prompting a uniformed officer to rush to the scene.
A Trump administration spokesperson said the White House “was aware of Doge’s intentions to improve internet access on the campus” and “did not consider this matter a security incident or security breach”.
A Secret Service spokesperson said it “collaborates closely” with Musk and his team.
The Times also cited unnamed White House officials as saying the Starlink installation was a “donation” vetted by the White House counsel.
Nonetheless, that has done little to quell concern about Musk’s close alliance with the president.
On Monday, prominent Democrats including the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren demanded an investigation of possible criminal corruption involving Starlink, citing “the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to cancel a $2.4bn contract with Verizon to upgrade air traffic control communications, and to pay … Musk’s Starlink to help manage US airspace”.
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The SpaceX and Tesla billionaire denies conflicts of interest. Trump has said if conflicts are found, they will be addressed.
Starlink, the Times said, is typically used by the US government “to provide internet access in emergency situations and remote locations”. Jake Williams of Hunter Strategy, a cybersecurity company, told the paper it was “super rare” for Starlink to be used on existing government infrastructure.
The network has already been installed at the General Services Administration. A Secret Service spokesperson said: “Only apps that meet GSA’s security and privacy standards are allowed.”
Williams said: “It introduces another attack point. Why introduce that risk?”
