May 14, 2025

Warren, Warner, Shaheen, Lawmakers Push for Corruption Investigation Into Trump Administration Favors for Elon Musk’s Starlink

Lawmakers press ethics officials to investigate reports that Trump admin is working for Starlink as it negotiates tariff agreements with foreign governments

Musk, a Special Government Employee, struck new Starlink deal with Saudi Arabia during Trump's visit yesterday

“Musk may be using his official role and his proximity to the President as leverage for his own personal financial benefit — even if it comes at the expense of American consumers and the nation’s foreign policy interests.”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Mark Warner (D-Va.), Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led members in pushing for a new investigation into potential corruption related to the Trump Administration’s use of trade negotiations with foreign governments to benefit Elon Musk’s Starlink. 

The letter, sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Acting Director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Jamieson Greer, White House Designated Agency Ethics Official Scott Gast, and the State Department’s Acting Inspector General Arne Baker, was also signed by U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

The push comes one day after news of Elon Musk striking a new Starlink deal with Saudi Arabia during President Trump’s visit to the region this week, sparking new questions about whether — and how — the Trump administration is working on behalf of Musk. Last week, reports revealed internal government messages indicating that U.S. embassies and the State Department have encouraged foreign nations to clear hurdles for U.S. satellite companies, often mentioning Starlink by name, in the context of trade negotiations. 

Mr. Musk, while retaining his role as CEO of multiple companies, is serving as a Special Government Employee (SGE) and top adviser to President Trump.

"Reports indicate that Mr. Musk may be using his official role and his proximity to the President as leverage for his own personal financial benefit — even if it comes at the expense of American consumers and the nation’s foreign policy interests,” wrote the lawmakers.  “These actions raise questions about whether Mr. Musk or other administration officials may be violating ethics or other laws.”

SpaceX, which Elon Musk founded and owns, runs Starlink, a satellite internet service. Starlink operates in over 120 markets, often relying on permits from foreign nations to access markets — and reportedly has struggled to secure agreements to operate in certain emerging markets. Last year, the company’s subscriber growth appeared to slow.

That changed when President Trump took office and Musk became a top Trump advisor. Since then, Starlink has seen a surge of new countries permitting the company to enter their markets — including countries that resisted Starlink for years, until now. Just yesterday, Musk announced that Saudi Arabia approved Starlink, coinciding with new defense and trade agreements by the White House and U.S. tech companies with Saudi Arabia and a Saudi company. Starlink stands to earn billions of dollars from unlocking access to these new markets.

In at least one recent case, evidence suggests that Musk conditioned U.S. tariff favors on a country’s approval of Starlink. Recent reporting by The Washington Post revealed that the Trump Administration is explicitly seeking to assist Starlink as the Administration engages in tariff negotiations with multiple countries.

“Suggesting that a foreign government adopt Starlink in exchange for relief on tariffs appears to be a textbook case of corruption,” wrote the lawmakers.

The lawmakers laid out clear next steps for each ethics official in investigating the potential corruption, including for: the State Department Inspector General to conduct a broad review of the role of the Department in tariff negotiations, and whether there have been illegal or inappropriate efforts to assist Starlink or other private-sector entities at the expense of the American public; the Department of Justice and the White House’s Designated Agency Ethics Official to investigate whether Elon Musk or other administration officials may have violated federal ethics law by abusing their official roles for the benefit of Starlink; and the Office of Government Ethics to examine this matter and recommend any potential violations for appropriate enforcement action.

Senator Warren has led the charge to fight back against potential corruption as a result of President Trump’s chaotic tariffs:

  • Senator Warren and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) wrote to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, calling out the Trump administration for withholding information on its supposedly ongoing bilateral “negotiations” from Congress and sounding the alarm about potential corruption.
  • Senator Warren slammed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos following reports that Amazon considered an initiative to illustrate the cost of President Trump’s tariffs to customers — only to reverse course after a private conversation between Bezos and Trump.
  • Senator Warren wrote to Apple CEO Tim Cook about a special tariff exemption for Apple and other tech firms following Cook’s conversation with Trump administration officials.
  • To mark 100 days of the Trump administration, Senator Warren read 100 reports of corruption from President Trump’s term so far into the Congressional record, including Apple’s apparent tariff exemption.
  • Senator Warren, along with Representatives Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) and Judy Chu (D-Calif.), led a group of 44 Congressional Democrats in writing to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer with concerns over the potential for corruption in the implementation of the administration’s tariff policy.
  • When Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer were first nominated for Commerce Secretary and United States Trade Representative (USTR) respectively, Senators Warren and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) wrote to seek clarification on their tariff strategy, whether they planned to adopt any tariff exclusions, and if so, how they planned to avoid a loophole giveaway to big corporations at the expense of American workers and small businesses.

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