Posted on 10/16/2026 4:54:02 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Congressional Democrats on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees are demanding President Donald Trump explain why Ukrainian forces’ access to SpaceX Starshield services was restricted earlier this week.
In a letter first reported by MS NOW, Rep. Jason Crow, D-Co., ranking member of the Armed Services Committee; Adam Smith, D-Wash., ranking member of the Select Committee on Intelligence; Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn.; and Rep. George Whitesides, D-Calif., lambasted the Trump administration for refusing to respond to congressional inquiries on who directed changes to Ukraine’s access to Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink services.
The lawmakers were not satisfied with either the possibility that Elon Musk’s company SpaceX independently made the decision — which Musk has denied — or the U.S. government made the call.
“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government,” Musk wrote Oct. 14 on X. “Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.”
The Democratic lawmakers want the Trump administration to explain exactly who controls the crucial satellite connections Ukraine uses to defend itself.
“If a private company can unilaterally restrict a critical operational service governed by a signed contract with the Department of Defense during an active conflict, it raises serious concerns about public accountability and the outsized influence of private actors over U.S. national security matters,” the lawmakers wrote.
“If, on the other hand, the direction was given by your Administration, it raises serious questions about U.S. defense policy regarding Russia and Ukraine,” they added. “Either way, the American people, our allies, and Ukraine deserve to know why this decision with life-threatening consequences was made.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ms.now ...
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Gee, I don’t know.
But we’ll look into it.
In a social media post Wednesday, Tillis called on Musk to “please tell me these overnight disruptions to Starlink terminals in Ukraine were unintended — that @SpaceX is doing everything it can to fix a temporary glitch.”
Tillis warned that “intentionally degrading Ukraine’s ability to defend itself might be construed as aiding and abetting a mass murderer,” referring to Putin.
Moderate GOP Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.) pointed a finger of blame squarely at the Trump administration.
“The Administration’s decision to reduce intel sharing to Ukraine & access to Starlink equates to aiding the invader & the war criminal who bombs cities. Does the Administration think it will get ANY support for the remainder of the 119th Congress? Their agenda is dead unless they change paths,” Bacon warned in a social media post Wednesday.
He reposted a New York Times article reporting that Ukrainian officials and analysts speculated that an order to restrict Ukraine’s access to Starlink’s high-speed data may have come from Washington amid rising tensions between Trump and Zelensky.
We’ll get right on it. TOP people.
how many congress critters accepted money from the Uke aid Crypto scam from SBF & FTX?
if they took money from FTX wouldn’t they be considered paid foreign agents?
Good point. Now lets talk about Raytheon. Or Blackrock for that matter.
F em and especially T Tillis. Musk is under no obligation to give little Zeke anything.
https://www.worldgovernmentbonds.com/country/ukraine/
Ukraine 1yr 33.55%.
Democrats posting on here are the same...
So Musk is not obligated to provide service to paying customers? Okay
Poland blasts Musk for restricting Ukraine’s Starlink access: ‘Big man, are you playing politics again?’
‘We are watching you,’ said Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski amid outcry about restriction of the technology
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/europe/poland-elon-musk-starlink-putin-russia-war-b3066514.html
I don’t think Trump’s Ukraine policy is popular with the public at large, AND people who support Ukraine, especially those with ethnic connections to lands occupied by the Soviets after Yalta, feel very passionate about defeating Putin. Cutting off assistance to Ukraine, especially things like intelligence which are a fixed cost, is not likely a political winner in November and could affect marginal races.
The democrats are upset their Kickback money stopped coming
“”The Democratic lawmakers want the Trump administration to explain exactly who controls the crucial satellite connections Ukraine uses to defend itself.””
.
How about NO.
.
The order to limit and throttle Ukrainian access to the SpaceX Starshield satellite system originated from inside the White House, according to U.S. and Western officials.
• The White House Order: Reports from Reuters indicate that leaders at the U.S. Department of Defense received instructions from the White House to slow down or restrict the Starshield service for Ukraine.
• Elon Musk's Response: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government, claiming that any limits on speed or usage are dictated by the U.S. military and President Donald Trump.
• Trump's Denial: President Trump publicly stated that he was unsure who ordered the restriction and denied that he personally made the request.
“...The democrats are upset their Kickback money stopped coming..”
^THIS^...always follow the money trail when it comest these communist basstids... Hey, commies, guess what? You can crap bricks too if you’re well-fed and have a square butt-hole...spit.
Part of this is Russia has destroyed some of the Starlink uplinks in the area. It isn’t all on Musk/Trump.
TOP people!!
Elon should send the bill for running Starlink in Ukraine to Tillis. I’m so glad this RINO is almost gone.
Democrats demand Trump explain satellite cutoffs...How about insult Trump, demand forever war, get you’re sh*t cut-off. There, I fixed it.
This thug is entitled to US taxpayer money.
How dare Trump cut it off!!!
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