Senator Adam Schiff, D-Calif., stated on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should testify before the Senate regarding recent limitations on Starlink satellite services that disrupted Ukrainian military operations. Schiff argued that a formal inquiry is necessary to clarify who authorized the slowdown, noting that conflicting statements from President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have created uncertainty about the chain of command. The senator added that if Democrats retake the Senate, Hegseth and others with knowledge of the decision should be brought in for questioning.
What the Right Is Saying
The Trump administration has denied that the U.S. government requested changes to Starlink’s operation in Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated last week that reports suggesting the United States was denying Ukraine something they needed to defend their country were inaccurate. "That’s not true. That’s not accurate," Rubio said.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, attributed the service restrictions to Ukraine’s actions rather than a government directive. In posts on X, Musk accused Ukraine of violating "Starlink terms of service" by using the system for offensive strikes. He stated that the "loophole was closed" and that the company "simply enforced our terms of service when they were bypassed."
President Trump stated on Thursday that Musk had restored Starlink service in Ukraine. However, Ukrainian officials denied the following day that the system was working properly. The administration maintains that the limitations were not the result of a U.S. government order.
What the Left Is Saying
Senator Schiff emphasized that the control of critical national security infrastructure by a private individual is problematic. "The world’s richest person shouldn’t be controlling our national security interests," Schiff said. "That is a spectacular threat to our national security. If it is true, we should find out."
Schiff pointed to what he described as contradictions between public statements. "You’ve got the president saying one thing, you’ve got Elon Musk saying another thing, you have them both saying different things at different times," he said. "Somebody is lying here. Maybe they’re all lying in different ways, but we need to find out."
The senator questioned the sudden change in policy, asking, "What was it that changed? Why did it change? What impact is it having on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself? Is this in our national security interests?" He argued that these are questions Republicans have been unwilling to ask.
What the Numbers Show
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on “Meet the Press” last week that the Ukrainian government believed the decision to limit Starlink came from the U.S. government. "It was the message from American government to limit this speed, and technically SpaceX did it," Zelenskyy said.
The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump called Musk and asked him to lift his company’s satellite service restrictions. Prior to the recent dispute, Musk had stated that limits on "speed or usage" of Starshield, the military network, are "decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS."
Ukraine reported that Starlink and Starshield were working at high speeds again by Saturday. During the previous week, disruptions to the systems made it harder for Ukrainian forces to intercept incoming Russian attacks.
The Bottom Line
The dispute highlights ongoing tensions regarding the role of private technology companies in national security decisions. With conflicting accounts from the White House, the Pentagon, SpaceX, and the Ukrainian government, the question of who ordered the Starlink slowdown remains unresolved. Schiff’s call for Hegseth to testify suggests that congressional oversight of the Pentagon’s coordination with private contractors will remain a point of contention in the coming months.