Trump Administration Paid SpaceX $1.2M for Starlink Services Previously Called a Gift
Reports reveal the White House paid SpaceX nearly $1.2 million for Starlink services despite earlier claiming the technology was a free donation.
POLICY WIRE — Washington, D.C. — The Trump administration issued nearly $1.2 million to Elon Musk’s SpaceX through government contracts, contradicting previous claims that the services were provided for free.
According to reporting from The Washington Post, SpaceX secured four separate contracts between March 2025 and June of this year. These agreements provided Starlink services to the White House Communications Agency, a branch tasked with maintaining secure communications for the president and high-ranking executive officials.
While the total expenditure reached nearly $1.2 million, White House officials stated in March of last year that Starlink had donated the service. This earlier assertion was highlighted in a resurfaced New York Times report.
A White House official told the Times that the gift had undergone review by the attorney responsible for ethics within the White House Counsel’s Office.
The legal advocacy group Democracy Defenders Fund identified three of the payments, totaling $502,000, last week. A final contract, valued at $686,000, was later uncovered by the Post.
Virginia Canter, the chief counsel at the Democracy Defenders Fund, expressed significant concern over the revelation. She noted the group worries about transactional arrangements and pay-to-play access, stating that when an individual receives special access followed by lucrative government contracts, it raises questions about whether those deals serve the best interests of the taxpayer.
Starlink provides broadband internet to millions of American users via a network of thousands of satellites in low orbit. When the services were first installed at the White House, certain security concerns had been raised.
Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained at the time that the project was intended to improve Wi-Fi connectivity on the complex.
The White House, the Pentagon, and SpaceX have been contacted for comment regarding these findings.
In its report, the Democracy Defenders Fund alleged that Musk’s net worth doubled in the 17 months since his public alignment with Donald Trump, while his businesses secured at least $10 billion in contracts.
The news of the SpaceX contracts follows a difficult midterm for Musk after a $500 million investment in Republican campaigns. On his platform X, Musk remarked that data centers in space look appealing now, joking that his election-interfering lasers did not work this time.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)>
