A group of Silicon Valley U.S. House Democrats on Friday demanded the White House investigate recent interruptions of Elon Musk's Starlink internet service in Ukraine in a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
The letter, shared exclusively with CNBC and led by California Democratic Reps. Sam Liccardo, Ro Khanna and Jimmy Panetta, comes after Starshield, the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink, was restricted in Ukraine for a period of time, limiting the besieged country's military capabilities.
Ukrainian officials told CNN on Friday that restrictions remained in place, despite President Donald Trump's claim Thursday that Musk had restored access. The officials said the restrictions were disrupting high-speed military drones, hampering Ukraine's ability to intercept Russian attacks and conduct operations along the front line.
The lawmakers in their letter to Wiles demanded an "immediate, government-wide investigation into the decision to restrict SpaceX's Starshield satellite-based intelligence and military support services in Ukraine." The letter indicates Democrats will make investigating the Starlink interruption a top priority if they win the House in the Nov. 3 midterm election.
"We will ensure that the 120th Congress will closely scrutinize federal funding awarded to Mr. Musk's businesses, including whether these companies meet their contractual obligations, and whether adequate safeguards exist against political interference, arbitrary service restrictions, and misuse of federal resources," the lawmakers wrote.