Senator Adam Schiff wants Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to appear before Congress. Schiff demands that Hegseth explain why a military version of Starlink, used by Ukraine’s armed forces, was slowed down. The Senator addresses the clashing accounts from the White House and SpaceX and calls for answers.
Adam Schiff calls for Pete Hegseth testimony over Ukraine satellite restrictions
The California Democrat stated on NBC, “Defense Secretary Hegseth should be brought in. Anyone who has knowledge of what happened.” Adan Schiff’s demand follows a Wall Street Journal story published last week. According to the paper, Donald Trump phoned Elon Musk and pushed him to lift the speed limits on Starshield. The latter is the defense-oriented sibling of Starlink. Ukrainian troops use the service in their fight against Russia.
Schiff said the competing statements leave the public guessing. “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. He added: “Maybe they’re all lying in different ways, but we need to find out.”
Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have both described the slowdown as Musk’s own decision to uphold his company’s contract terms. Hegseth told reporters, “There are terms of service that ultimately need to be complied to, and that’s where Starlink has the option to make those decisions.”
And last Friday, Trump distanced himself from the episode. “Well, I don’t know if it was anybody, because it wasn’t me, and I don’t think it was Elon,” he said. By Thursday, his message shifted: “I don’t comment one way or the other.”
Moments later, he seemed to claim some credit for the restoration. He said, “The bottom line: He put it back (via The Daily Beast).” Musk first said that “any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS.” Then, in a late-night post on X on Saturday, he accused Ukraine of breaking Starlink’s rules.
The dispute lands while Trump’s relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy keeps deteriorating. The former has also openly speculated about meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, who wants a settlement that benefits Moscow.
