Hoyer asks Armed Services chairmen to subpoena Hegseth and Musk over Starlink slowdown in Ukraine

By Philippa Langstrom

WASHINGTON — Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has asked the chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees to subpoena Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk over the recent slowdown of Starlink and Starshield service used by Ukraine’s military, even as Ukraine says full speeds have been restored.

Who ordered the restriction is still disputed. Asked whether the United States had a role, a U.S. official told the BBC that “no such request was ever made by the president.” Musk wrote on X on Oct. 14 that Starshield is controlled by the U.S. government and that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” NPR reported. On Oct. 24 he wrote that Ukraine’s military “violated Starlink terms of service and used it for offensive drone strikes,” adding, “That loophole was closed last week.” He did not say who closed it. The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump later asked Musk to lift the restrictions, Forbes summarized.

What Hoyer asked for

In an Oct. 25 letter to House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Hoyer wrote that Congress “must investigate the source of the decision to suspend full access to Starlink and Starshield – whether it was the determination of SpaceX and its leadership independently or whether it came at the direction of the Trump Administration.”

He asked the committees to subpoena Hegseth and Musk “to testify and answer that question definitively,” to examine communications about the slowdown, and to establish the relationship between the Defense Department and SpaceX in controlling coverage over the war zone.

“If full access to Starlink and Starshield are not restored soon, many Ukrainians will die, and recent battlefield gains against the invader may be lost,” Hoyer wrote.

Speeds back, questions remain

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Oct. 24 that its monitoring systems recorded the restoration of Starlink and Starshield speeds, with connections stable on equipment moving faster than 400 km/h, or about 249 mph, CNBC reported. The restrictions had cut off connections for drones flying faster than about 100 mph, officials said.

“The most important thing today is that Starlink and Starshield operations have been restored to the speeds we had before the restrictions,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X, according to NPR.

Hoyer’s letter adds a House voice to Senate scrutiny. A bipartisan group of senators led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) asked the Pentagon’s inspector general to determine whether the Defense Department or its contractors caused the curbs, the BBC reported.

The Inquisitor found no public response from Rogers or Wicker to the request as of Wednesday morning. Hoyer, who represents Southern Maryland’s 5th District, is retiring at the end of this term.