Calls to Nationalize SpaceX and Starlink Grow in Washington

By John Maximus · Published 1 November 2026
Reported from named sources and checked against the publishers linked in this article. Corrections: editorial and corrections policy.

A debate over whether the United States should take public control of Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its Starlink satellite internet network is gaining traction among critics on both the political left and right, Broadband Breakfast reported from Washington on 29 October 2026. The outlet traced the latest push to two essays published on 27 October: one by progressive economist Robert Reich, labour secretary in the Clinton administration, and one by Jonathan V. Last, executive editor of the conservative anti-Trump publication The Bulwark.

Key facts

• Reich, in his 27 October essay, urged Democrats to prepare to nationalise SpaceX and Starlink, arguing that decisions affecting Ukraine’s military communications should rest with officials accountable for US foreign policy, Broadband Breakfast reported.
• Last argued the same day that SpaceX is a national security vulnerability regardless of who owns it, and that a break-up or tougher regulation are alternatives, according to the report.
• SpaceX’s own October disclosures put the constellation at more than 11,000 Starlink satellites launched into low-Earth orbit — a company figure, the outlet noted, not an independent count.
• Starlink missions accounted for about 79 percent of Falcon 9 launches in 2026, and several rival spacecraft firms were told SpaceX launch slots are booked through 2028 or 2029, the outlet found.
• Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is the lawmaker best placed to act on such complaints should Democrats return to power. That is Broadband Breakfast’s own assessment; Reed makes no such commitment anywhere in the reporting.

Why it matters for the satellite internet market

The stake described in the reporting is sole-source dependency. By Broadband Breakfast’s account, SpaceX is at once the launch provider the US government and the commercial space industry rely on, the operator of a large share of the satellites now in orbit, and its own largest launch customer, with competitors quoted waiting years for a ride. The two satellite numbers in circulation measure different things rather than contradict each other: SpaceX’s 11,000-plus is a cumulative count of Starlink spacecraft launched, while the roughly two-thirds share comes from independent tracking of satellites currently active across all operators. On the government side the same company holds military launch contracts, the Starshield network and a $1.8 billion classified contract with the National Reconnaissance Office, the outlet reported — so one owner’s decision can reach both battlefield communications and the queue for orbit.

Nothing in the reporting touches the retail side of the business. SpaceX’s own order pages, which the report does not address, continue to list US residential satellite internet at $120 a month, a cheaper Residential Lite tier at $80 where the network has spare capacity, and hardware from $349 — unchanged by the nationalisation argument, which runs on ownership, regulation and institutional contracts. The availability being withdrawn is governmental: Ontario’s cancelled $100 million deal, Yukon’s contract review and Italy’s stalled $1.63 billion military talks, none of them consumer service.

No response from the company or the regulator

Neither SpaceX nor the FCC has publicly answered the two essays. SpaceX has operated for years without a media relations office and has published nothing on its own channels about the proposals; the company’s position in the reporting rests entirely on Musk’s and Shotwell’s earlier statements. Any move against SpaceX’s licences would now land at an FCC chaired by Brendan Carr, who as a commissioner in 2024 dismissed a petition challenging those licences as “regulatory harassment” — the same agency, under the same official, that declined to act the last time it was asked.

An unusual coalition

The two camps arrive at similar conclusions from opposite directions, according to the outlet. Reich’s case rests on corporate power and democratic accountability; Last’s on the risk of depending on a single private company for critical capabilities. Last wrote that his concern would stand even if a different billionaire owned SpaceX.

Earlier complaints from lawmakers went nowhere, Broadband Breakfast noted. In November 2024, Senators Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Reed, both Democrats, asked the Justice and Defense departments to examine whether Musk’s reported conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior Kremlin officials endangered his security clearance and SpaceX’s standing as a defence contractor.

A bipartisan letter in October

On 16 October, Reed and eight other senators renewed a demand for an investigation into Musk’s decision to restrict Ukrainian access to Starshield, the outlet reported. The signatories included Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Neither that letter nor the 2024 referral asked for public ownership — Reed’s office has sought inquiries, not nationalisation.

The Ukraine disputes behind it

Concerns about Musk’s personal control date to the start of Russia’s invasion, according to Broadband Breakfast. In 2022 Musk declined a Ukrainian military request to switch on Starlink near Sevastopol, Crimea, for a drone strike on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, saying agreement would have made SpaceX “explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”

Access later became a bargaining chip, the report said, citing Reuters: in February 2025 the news agency reported that US special envoy Keith Kellogg warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that service could be cut off if Kyiv did not agree a critical minerals deal. Musk called that report false.

Allies and rivals react

The backlash reached friendly governments, according to Broadband Breakfast. Taiwan had already committed $1.3 billion to building its own satellite network after a member of Congress alleged SpaceX was withholding service there. After the Trump administration’s tariffs took effect, Ontario cancelled its Starlink contract and Yukon said it would review its government contracts — part of a wider pattern in which allied governments have already begun pulling back from Starlink contracts. Italy’s defence minister said the military deal talks had stalled and voiced outrage at reports the US had threatened to cut off Ukraine’s service.

SpaceX’s scale has drawn admiration from Moscow as well. Reuters reported that Putin called Musk a “genius” on 28 October while acknowledging Russia is only beginning to build a Starlink-like system, Broadband Breakfast said; Russia has launched more than 30 satellites for the effort, against thousands for Starlink, and Russia’s own low-Earth orbit programme has had setbacks.

Nationalisation has no formal backing in the reporting. Broadband Breakfast presented it as a proposal now circulating, with no bill, hearing or administration position attached to it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Starshield, and how is it different from Starlink?

According to Broadband Breakfast, Starshield is a separate SpaceX system built for government and national security customers, distinct from the commercial Starlink network sold to households and businesses. The outlet says that split is why disputes over Ukrainian access run through SpaceX’s defence business rather than its consumer service.

Has the FCC ever been asked to review SpaceX’s licences over this?

Yes. Broadband Breakfast reports that in April 2024 the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America asked the Federal Communications Commission, the US telecoms regulator, to hold a hearing on whether Musk was fit to keep SpaceX’s spectrum licences, citing the Crimea decision and reports of Russian forces using Starlink. The petition did not lead to a hearing.

Does SpaceX accept that Starlink can be used for offensive operations?

Broadband Breakfast notes that SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell said as far back as February 2023 that Starlink was “never intended to be weaponized,” and that using the service to control Ukrainian drones went beyond the company’s agreement with Kyiv.

Who else is building a rival network to Starlink?

Broadband Breakfast reports that Amazon, the US e-commerce group led by CEO Andy Jassy, is developing a competing network called Amazon Leo, but that it remains in the process of deploying its constellation. The outlet cites that incomplete rollout as part of why questions about SpaceX’s market position persist.