Trump asked Musk to lift Starlink slowdown in Ukraine, WSJ reports

President Donald Trump asked Elon Musk to ease restrictions the SpaceX chief had imposed on the military-grade version of the company's Starlink system in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing U.S. officials.

According to the Journal, the Starshield system — which Ukraine relies on in its war against Russia — was "working more normally Thursday, shortly after" Trump spoke to Musk by phone. The report cited U.S. and Ukrainian officials.

Trump declined to confirm or deny the call when asked by reporters outside the White House before departing for a campaign rally in Iowa.

"I don't want to comment one way or the other," he said. "Whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn't make any difference."

Referring to Musk, Trump added: "The bottom line, he put it back."

How the slowdown became public

The Journal reported Tuesday that Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX and a critic of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had ordered the Starlink slowdown. Two unnamed sources in that report said Trump and Musk discussed the decision to throttle Starlink "soon after" the change first became public last week, while one source said Musk had spoken to Trump before imposing the speed cap.

Trump has repeatedly denied involvement. "I don't know who did it, but I was not involved," he said Wednesday.

The Starlink controversy drew bipartisan concern and criticism from lawmakers. It emerged as Trump has stepped up criticism of Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russian energy infrastructure, while pursuing a deal to ease sanctions on Russia so it can supply some diesel on the global market.

Senators press for answers

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday that he does not believe Musk would throttle Starlink without "at least the acquiescence of the White House."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the ranking member of the Senate homeland security committee's investigations subcommittee, said Thursday he had launched an inquiry into how SpaceX's satellite technology was "degraded for Ukraine without notice."

"This decision to limit critical technology for a key ally not only put Ukrainian forces at risk and their people in peril, but raises serious questions about who controls critical capabilities the U.S. government has spent billions of dollars to procure," Blumenthal said in letters to Musk and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The White House and an email associated with Musk did not immediately respond to CNBC's requests for comment on Thursday's report that Trump had asked Musk to lift the restrictions.

Source: CNBC.