Silicon Valley Democrats demand White House investigation into Starlink restrictions in Ukraine

A group of Silicon Valley U.S. House Democrats on Friday demanded the White House investigate recent interruptions of Elon Musk's Starlink internet service in Ukraine in a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

The letter, shared exclusively with CNBC and led by California Democratic Reps. Sam Liccardo, Ro Khanna and Jimmy Panetta, comes after Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink, was restricted in Ukraine for a period of time, limiting the besieged country's military capabilities.

Ukrainian officials told CNN on Friday that restrictions remained in place, despite President Donald Trump's claim Thursday that Musk had restored access. The officials said the restrictions were disrupting high-speed military drones, hampering Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian attacks and conduct operations along the front line.

The lawmakers in their letter to Wiles demanded an "immediate, government-wide investigation into the decision to restrict SpaceX's Starshield satellite-based intelligence and military support services in Ukraine."

"We will ensure that the 120th Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Mr. Musk's businesses, including whether these companies meet their contractual obligations, and whether adequate safeguards exist against political interference, arbitrary service restrictions, and misuse of federal resources," the lawmakers wrote.

At the core of the lawmakers' questions is who ordered the throttling of Ukrainian Starshield and whether the direction came from President Donald Trump or Musk, a private citizen.

"Despite the resulting loss of human life, and the serious national security implications, neither the Administration nor SpaceX has provided a clear and consistent explanation of responsibility," the lawmakers wrote. "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 lawmakers asked Wiles who was behind the decision to restrict Starshield service and to identify any individuals "who authorized, directed, approved, or [were] consulted about the restrictions."

"As Silicon Valley's elected members in Congress, we represent hundreds of innovation economy employers and workers whose livelihoods depend on the credibility of American technology abroad," the lawmakers wrote.

Source: CNBC