Elon Musk at SATELLITE 2020. Photo: Access Intelligence
A group of Democratic Senators are calling for an ethics investigation into reporting that the Senators say shows the Trump Administration is “explicitly seeking” to assist Elon Musk’s Starlink business in tariff negotiations with foreign nations.
“Suggesting that a foreign government adopt Starlink in exchange for relief on tariffs appears to be a textbook case of corruption,” Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Mark Warner, and Jeanne Shaheen wrote in the letter.
The letter cites recent reporting from The Washington Post that internal government messages reviewed by the Post show that U.S. embassies and the State Department have pushed for regulatory approval for Starlink, the satellite broadband constellation owned by Elon Musk.
Another recent op-ed in The Post details that a Bangladeshi government official met with Musk in February at the White House directly after a trade meeting and Musk implied that Bangladesh “would not be able to get favorable trade terms from the United States if Starlink wasn’t allowed entry into the Bangladeshi market.” Bangladesh later approved Starlink’s market access in April.
“By meeting with a foreign representative at the White House in his official capacity about new contracts for a company he owns, Musk appears to have used his government position for private gain, in violation of [federal law],” the Senators said in the letter.
Democratic Senators Jack Reed, Richard Blumenthal, Jeffrey Merkley, Martin Heinrich, and Edward Markey also signed the letter.
Addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi and ethics officials, the Senators ask that the Department of Justice, the White House, and the Office of Government Ethics investigate “whether any officials have pursued a quid-pro-quo exchange of Starlink access for tariff favors in violation of federal ethics law.”
“The involvement of State Department officials also raises additional questions, including whether these officials may be subverting the public’s interests in favor of Mr. Musk’s personal financial interests as they negotiate new tariff agreements — and whether they have been directed by Mr. Musk or President Trump to do so,” the letter said.
Musk traveled with the White House delegation to Saudi Arabia this week, and announced on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia has approved Starlink service on Tuesday during an investment forum that coincided with the White House trip.
“Just yesterday, Musk announced that Saudi Arabia approved Starlink, just as the White House and U.S. tech companies announced defense and trade agreements with Saudi Arabia and a Saudi company. Starlink stands to earn billions of dollars from unlocking access to these new markets,” the Senators wrote.
Democratic members of Congress have been calling attention to conflict of interest concerns with Elon Musk’s “special government employee” status in the Trump White House, and his role with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which is directing cuts to federal agencies while his company SpaceX has billions of dollars in federal contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA.
Earlier this year, for example, Blumenthal started an inquiry into whether DOGE has gained access to trade secrets of SpaceX competitors.
Earlier this week, the FCC launched an inquiry into satellite operator EchoStar’s use of a spectrum band when SpaceX has challenged EchoStar’s spectrum use. The FCC opened the inquiry citing the importance of “robust and efficient use” of national spectrum resources, and cited references to SpaceX’s complaints about the spectrum use.
