Democrats call for investigation into Musk over reported Starlink slowdown order

Democrats are calling for an investigation into SpaceX CEO Elon Musk following a Wall Street Journal report alleging he ordered the Starlink slowdown in Ukraine.

“Either the President was lying or Musk was lying, but the decision to slow down satellite speed and access has life or death consequences for Ukraine,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) wrote on social media . “This deserves a full investigation by the Senate. Elon Musk should be compelled to testify before Congress and under oath.”

“National security decisions should be made in our national security interests, and not based on the personal whim of an unstable executive,” Schiff continued.

The slowdown occurred earlier this month, targeting Starlink-supported Ukrainian military drones, airplanes and helicopters traveling faster than 100 mph, a source familiar with the matter previously told The Hill.

Musk — the world’s richest person — initially claimed in a post that only President Trump had the ability to order the slowdown, adding that while Starlink is under Musk’s SpaceX, Starshield is owned and operated by the U.S. government.

In response to the Journal’s report, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) posted on the social platform X , “@elonmusk you don’t have to wait for a subpoena, you can just come in on your own.”

The move comes as Trump and Musk have been increasingly critical of Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who said after the slowdown that “ people will die ” and called the move a “big mistake.”

Trump has faced intense pressure from both sides of the aisle for continuing to grow closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin by signing an executive order to waive sanctions on Russian energy and purchasing large quantities of Russian diesel .

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) slammed Musk directly in a video on X , saying the SpaceX CEO “shouldn’t have the power to influence the outcome of a war with the flip of a switch. Yet he and Trump seem determined to put their finger on the scale for Putin.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that there is an “ enormous risk ” if Musk is “dictating our foreign policy” by deciding what tools Ukraine has on the battlefield.

“We’d like to know exactly who is responsible for what happened,” she stated.