Senate Democrats want investigation into whether Trump administration helping Musk make Starlink deals

As President Donald Trump continues his first foreign trip through the Middle East, a group of Senate Democrats are calling for an investigation into whether the Trump administration is clearing hurdles for Starlink, a company led by White House senior adviser Elon Musk, to strike foreign deals.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Attorney General Pam Bondi, acting Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics Jamieson Greer, acting Inspector General of the State Department Arne Baker and White House ethics official Scott Gast, the senators called for an investigation into whether the administration is “intervening” to benefit Starlink as it “negotiates tariff agreements and other matters with foreign governments.”

Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., are leading the effort, raising concerns about recent reporting from the Washington Post that suggests the State Department might be pushing other countries to clear barriers for Musk’s satellite company.

“These 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,” the senators wrote. “These actions raise questions about whether Mr. Musk or other administration officials may be violating ethics or other laws.”

The group of Senate Democrats, which includes a number of additional Democratic co-signers, said the Department of Justice and the White House designated agency ethics official should investigate “whether Musk or other administration officials may have violated federal ethics law by abusing their official roles for the benefit of Starlink.”

The letter comes as Musk appeared alongside Trump during his first foreign trip of his second term. Musk was seated prominently as the president delivered remarks at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday.

During separate remarks at the same forum, Musk announced that Saudi Arabia had approved Starlink for aviation and maritime use in the region, raising concern from the senators.

“Musk announced that Saudi Arabia approved Starlink, just as the White House and U.S. tech companies announced defense and trade agreements with Saudi Arabia and a Saudi company,” they wrote. “Starlink stands to earn billions of dollars from unlocking access to these new markets.”

But the contract with Saudi Arabia is not the only example the senators cite. Starlink, the senators alleged, has seen a “rush of new countries permitting the company to enter their markets” since Trump took office. This, they said, comes after the company previously struggled to gain permits to operate in certain foreign markets.

The letter cited Starlink’s recent expansion into Bangladesh, which approved Starlink’s access to its market shortly after a Bangladeshi government official met with Musk at the White House. The lawmakers argued there should be an inquiry into whether Musk’s meeting with Bangladeshi officials violated ethics laws due to Musk’s status as a special government employee.

They also noted reports that India seems to have “sped through” approvals of Starlink while engaging in negotiations with the White House over tariffs.

“Suggesting that a foreign government adopt Starlink in exchange for relief on tariffs appears to be a textbook case of corruption,” they wrote in the letter. “The DOJ’s Public Integrity Section is responsible for investigating potentially criminal conflicts of interest like this. The White House’s Designated Agency Ethics Official can similarly investigate potential ethics violations by White House officials. We ask that the DOJ and the White House investigate whether any officials have pursued a quid-pro-quo exchange of Starlink access for tariff favors in violation of federal ethics law.”

“It is completely false to claim that Elon Musk had or has anything to do with deals involving Starlink. This is just more fake news from media outlets determined to invent conflicts of interest that don’t exist. For the umpteenth time, President Trump will not tolerate any conflicts of interest, and every administration official is following ethical guidelines set by their respective agencies,” White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields told ABC News.

Trump earlier said he would make sure there was no conflict of interest involving Musk.

“If there’s a conflict then we won’t let him get near it. He would know not to do it, so we haven’t had that yet. But if there was a conflict, we wouldn’t let him work in that area,” he said in February.

ABC News has also reached out to Starlink for comment.

Senate Democrats have been focused on Musk’s role as a special government employee for some time, raising repeated concerns about conflicts of interest between the wealthiest man in the world’s businesses and his governmental advisory role.

This is the latest in a series of letters geared toward Musk in recent weeks, including a separate legislative push from Warren that would bar special government employees like Musk from communicating with government agencies that interface with their companies and would require these federal employees to meet new ethics requirements.

ABC News’ Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.