US Senator Gives Musk 2 Weeks to Explain Starlink’s Ukraine Slowdown

Credit: Architect of the Capitol

Senator Richard Blumenthal has opened a congressional inquiry into how Ukraine lost full access to SpaceX’s Starshield service, and he wants Elon Musk to answer in writing by November 5. The Connecticut Democrat, who is the ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, announced the probe on Wednesday, October 22, with letters to Musk and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Starshield is the military version of Starlink, and Ukraine’s forces rely on it for drones and battlefield communications. Kyiv says the service was capped overnight on October 13, knocking out terminals on drones and other fast-moving platforms. In his letter, Blumenthal says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told him on a call on October 19 that access was still degraded for systems moving faster than 100 mph.

Blumenthal is asking SpaceX who ordered and carried out each restriction, whether Ukraine got any warning, and whether SpaceX can technically degrade Starshield for US or partner forces without Pentagon authorization. He also wants the total value of SpaceX’s Starlink and Starshield contracts with the US government since 2020, along with a briefing from SpaceX officials by November 12. “The events in Ukraine show how a single point of control can be turned against the forces that depend on it,” Blumenthal said. SpaceX had not publicly responded to Blumenthal’s letter as of Friday.

House Democrats are pushing too. Reps. Sam Liccardo, Ro Khanna and Jimmy Panetta, who represent Silicon Valley, sent a letter on Friday to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles demanding a government-wide investigation and a briefing within two weeks, as first reported by CNBC. “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 three lawmakers wrote. They also said a Democratic-led Congress would closely scrutinize federal funding for Musk’s companies, including more than US$700 million in broadband funding for Starlink.

Musk has denied that SpaceX made the call. On October 14, he said Starshield is owned and controlled by the US government, with any limits on speed or usage decided by the US military and ultimately the president. A Wall Street Journal report this week said Musk ordered the slowdown himself, and Blumenthal’s letter cites it, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Hegseth have since described the speeds as a matter for SpaceX’s commercial terms, according to The Hill.

When reports surfaced that Democrats plan to investigate him if they win Congress in the November 3 midterms, Musk responded on X.

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

Those who pick fights with me should understand that I will find out who is really pulling the strings and come for them, not just their puppets …

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 21, 2026

The White House story has shifted along the way. President Trump said on Thursday that Musk “put it back”, but Ukrainian officials say the restrictions are still in place. Who do you think should have the final say over Starshield in a war zone, SpaceX or the US government?