Democratic senators call for federal probe into Musk's contact with Russia

A pair of Democratic senators called for a federal investigation into Elon Musk’s involvement in SpaceX’s federal contracts following reports the tech billionaire has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a letter sent Friday, Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said Musk’s reported relations with a U.S. adversary “pose serious questions” about his “reliability as a government contract and a clearance holder.”

Shaheen is a senior member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees.

Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, holds contracts with the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community worth billions of dollars. He is also a “prime contractor” for the Space Force’s National Security Space program and holds a $1.8 billion classified contract with the National Reconnaissance Office, the lawmakers noted.

The tech entrepreneur has reportedly claimed he holds a U.S. security clearance as part of these federal agreements.

The letter comes after The Wall Street Journal reported last month Musk has been in regular contact with Putin since late 2022. The two reportedly had various conversations on personal matters, business and geopolitical tensions, while sometimes involving other high-ranking Russian officials, including Putin’s first deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko.

In one of these conversations, Putin allegedly asked Musk to avoid activating Starlink’s satellite internet service over Taiwan to help Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the Journal reported, citing two people briefed on the request.

“Space equipment is at the crux of the communications that underpin our most sensitive military and intelligence operations. Russia’s ambitions in the space domain pose a direct threat to U.S. national security,” the lawmakers wrote. “Communications between Russian government officials and any individual with a security clearance have the potential to put our security at risk. That is why there exists a strict reporting regime for any such foreign contacts.”

The senators pointed to the Pentagon’s assertion last May that Moscow launched an antisatellite weapon into space. Russia’s Ministry of Defense acknowledged a launch took place and included a spacecraft but called the U.S.’s assertions “fake news” at the time.

Reed and Shaheen later referenced the Justice Department’s (DOJ) recent seizure of 32 internet domains used by Russian intelligence agents and their proxies to steal Americans’ information. Kiriyenko was among the Russian officials alleged to be involved with the effort.

The lawmakers asked the DOJ and Pentagon to review whether Musk’s relations with Russian officials warrant an investigation and called on the Defense Department to determine whether SpaceX should exclude Musk’s involvement in current or future government contracts.

The DOJ confirmed it received the letter but declined to comment further and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to The Hill's request.

Musk has become one of President-elect Trump’s fiercest allies, spending time on the campaign trail and several days at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida following the election.

The letter comes just days after Trump tapped Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to head up a “Department of Government Efficiency,” which is expected to produce a report on slashing government costs and restructuring federal agencies.

In his leadership of the advisory panel, Musk could be working with the very agencies that hold contracts with SpaceX and electric vehicle company Tesla. Ethics experts have suggested his dual roles could present conflicts of interest.

Nonetheless, the panel is likely to face hurdles in its attempts to effect change given its seemingly advisory role, experts told The Hill.

Any major budget cuts would have to be approved by Congress, he noted. While Republicans have secured control of both chambers, they are likely to have a narrow majority in the House and lack a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

The Hill reached out to SpaceX for comment.

— Updated at 5:47 p.m.