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'The Corruption Is Staggering': Trump Officials Push Tariffed Nations to Approve Musk's Starlink
"The glaring conflict of interest inherent in this pressure to preference a Musk-owned company is disgusting," said Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert.
May 08, 2025
Trump administration officials have reportedly been pressuring countries facing U.S. tariffs to approve satellite internet services offered by Elon Musk's Starlink to help grease trade negotiations, further underscoring the conflicts of interest stemming from the mega-billionaire's proximity to the White House.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that it obtained "a series of internal government messages" that "reveal how U.S. embassies and the State Department have pushed nations to clear hurdles for U.S. satellite companies, often mentioning Starlink by name."
"The documents do not show that the Trump team has explicitly demanded favors for Starlink in exchange for lower tariffs," the newspaper added. "But they do indicate that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has increasingly instructed officials to push for regulatory approvals for Musk's satellite firm at a moment when the White House is calling for wide-ranging talks on trade."
The Post points specifically to ongoing bilateral trade negotiations between the U.S. and India, where "government officials have sped through approvals of Starlink with the understanding that doing so could help them cement trade deals with the administration."
The Times of India reported Wednesday that Starlink, a subsidiary of Musk's SpaceX, "has been issued a Letter of Intent by the Indian government for satcom services."
The corruption is staggering. So brazen. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
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— The Tennessee Holler ( @thetnholler.bsky.social) May 7, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the U.S.-based consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said in response to the Post's reporting that "the glaring conflict of interest inherent in this pressure to preference a Musk-owned company is disgusting."
"The bottom line here is that tools of trade and government should be utilized for the benefit of the American public, not abused for personal tech bro profiteering," Gilbert added.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called the revelations "a huge new scandal."
"Trump and Musk are using tariffs as leverage to get other countries to buy from Musk's companies. Working families pay
$4,000+ more a year so Musk gets new deals," Casar wrote on social media. "They get richer. Everyone else gets screwed."
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trumppartially paused the more aggressive tariffs he sought to impose on countries around the world while leaving in place 10% across-the-board import duties, which are already raising costs for American families.
The Post reported Wednesday that "at least two countries have explicitly discussed or moved toward adopting Musk's Starlink as a means of avoiding Trump’s tariffs and negotiating a better trade deal with the United States."
Cambodia, which is facing a potential 49% tariff rate, appears to be one of those countries. The Post obtained a U.S. embassy cable indicating that Cambodian officials have signaled a "desire to help balance our trade relationship by promoting the market entry of leading U.S. companies such as Boeing and Starlink."
"Another cable from April 17 reported that Starlink was pushing for a license to operate in Djibouti," the newspaper reported. "Embassy staffers wrote they would help Starlink as much as they could: 'Post will continue to follow up with Starlink in identifying government officials and facilitating discussions.'"
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said the internal cables show "gross corruption." Congressional Democrats are already probing the White House's use of Starlink services.
"Surprise, surprise: another Trump move that directly benefits Elon Musk—the guy who spent $260 million to elect Donald Trump and has been given the keys to the federal government," said Van Hollen. "They are rigging the government for themselves."
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Trump's New Plan for Deep Foreign Aid Cuts 'Will Plunge Millions' Into Hunger, Disease
"The Trump administration cannot legally enact these changes on its own—Congress must take a stand against these dangerous cuts to foreign aid and reject this proposal," said the president of Oxfam America.
Apr 15, 2025
A newly reported Trump administration plan to cut U.S. State Department funding in half next fiscal year and axe foreign assistance by nearly 75% drew dire warnings from humanitarian organizations that have seen firsthand the chaos sown by the administration's dismantling of life-saving aid operations.
"The administration's cuts, along with the proposed withdrawal of funding from key institutions like the United Nations, will plunge millions into hunger, disease, and increase other threats, making the world more dangerous and unstable for us all," Abby Maxman, the president and CEO of Oxfam America, said in a statement issued after multiple news outlets reported the details of the Trump administration's plan.
According to Reuters, the Trump administration is aiming to slash foreign assistance distributed by the State Department and USAID from $38.3 billion to $16.9 billion at a time of intensifying hunger, health, and climate crises worldwide.
The administration is also considering a proposal to shutter more than two dozen embassies and consulates—including some in Africa and Europe—and eliminate "almost all" funding for the United Nations.
An internal memo obtained by The New York Times proposes "cutting funding for humanitarian assistance and global health programs by more than 50% despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s pledges that lifesaving assistance would be preserved."
"There should be global moral outrage that the decisions made by powerful people in other countries have led to child deaths in just a matter of weeks."
Maxman said Monday that the administration's push for aggressive funding cuts—which, by law, must be approved by the Republican-controlled Congress—would "cause further suffering and have life-or-death consequences for millions around the world who are already living through dire humanitarian crises."
"It outlines sweeping cuts that could include programs like urgent food, water, and healthcare, education, and other support for women, children, and communities," said Maxman. "The Trump administration cannot legally enact these changes on its own—Congress must take a stand against these dangerous cuts to foreign aid and reject this proposal."
Trump's sweeping and lawless attacks on foreign aid have already had deadly consequences. The Times, citing the humanitarian group Save the Children, reported last week that "at least five children and three adults with cholera died as they went in search of treatment in South Sudan after aid cuts by the Trump administration shuttered local health clinics during the country's worst cholera outbreak in decades."
"There should be global moral outrage that the decisions made by powerful people in other countries have led to child deaths in just a matter of weeks," Chris Nyamandi, Save the Children country director in South Sudan, said in a statement.
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Internal Memo on Abducted Tufts Student Exposes Marco Rubio as 'Stone-Cold Liar'
A State Department memo found that the secretary of state failed to produce a shred of evidence that Rumeysa Ozturk took part in antisemitic activity or showed support for a terrorist group.
Apr 14, 2025
An internal U.S. State Department memo written days before plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents abducted Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk last month found that the Trump administration did not produce any evidence demonstrating that the doctoral student took part in antisemitic activity or showed support for a terrorist group.
That finding, revealed in Sunday reporting by The Washington Post, undercuts Secretary of State Marco Rubio's repeated insistence that Ozturk and other students who have had their visas revoked by the Trump administration have engaged in "impermissible actions taken to support designated foreign terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, or the Houthis."
"The key takeaway from this story is that Marco Rubio is a stone-cold liar," wrote political scientist Daniel Drezner.
The State Department memo, according to the Post, determined that Rubio "did not have sufficient grounds for revoking Ozturk's visa under an authority empowering the top U.S. diplomat to safeguard the foreign policy interests of the United States." Rubio ultimately revoked Ozturk's visa using a different authority that "allows for the revocation of a visa at the secretary of state's discretion."
Ozturk, a 30-year-old Turkish national, is currently being detained in an ICE facility in Louisiana amid an ongoing legal fight over the Trump administration's attempt to remove her from the U.S. She has decried the conditions inside the detention facility and said she received limited medical care after suffering several asthma attacks.
NEW: Rümeysa Öztürk says she's had 4 painful asthma attacks in ICE custody, and not only is her asthma going untreated but a nurse tore off her hijab, saying, "You need to take that thing off your head." www.aclum.org/sites/defaul...
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— Joshua J. Friedman (@joshuajfriedman.com) April 10, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Ozturk appears to have been targeted by the Trump administration over an op-ed in which she and her co-authors criticized Tufts' response to student-led calls to "end its complicity with Israel insofar as it is oppressing the Palestinian people and denying their right to self-determination—a right that is guaranteed by international law."
ProPublica noted Sunday that "Ozturk's attorneys, who are scheduled to appear Monday before a federal judge in Vermont, say the sole basis for revoking her visa appears to be the op-ed."
In a recent court filing, Ozturk's attorneys argued it is "plain" that she is "being retaliated against as part of the government's policy to arrest and detain noncitizens based on First Amendment protected speech advocating for Palestinian rights."
"Each day Ms. Öztürk remains confined further effectuates the government's unjustified retaliation against her and reinforces the broad chill already cast on other students and scholars who fear they could be next," the filing continued. "The longer the government keeps Ms. Öztürk detained, the less likely it is that any other similarly situated student or scholar will feel free to risk speaking."
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