Elon Musk’s Starlink Expands Across White House Complex
Trump administration officials said the company donated the internet service,
saying the gift had been vetted by the lawyer overseeing ethics issues in the
White House Counsel’s Office.
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Elon Musk, with his hands raised and pressed together, stands near a table
where people are seated. People are also seated behind him.
Questions about the business interests of Elon Musk conflicting with his status
as a presidential adviser and major Trump donor have persisted for
weeks.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
Maggie HabermanKate CongerEileen SullivanRyan Mac
By Maggie HabermanKate CongerEileen Sullivan and Ryan Mac
Published March 17, 2025
Updated March 18, 2025, 11:03 a.m. ET
Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is now
accessible across the White House campus. It is the latest installation of the
Wi-Fi network across the government since Mr. Musk joined the Trump
administration as an unpaid adviser.
It was not immediately clear when the White House complex was fitted with
Starlink after President Trump took office for a second term.
Starlink terminals, rectangular panels that receive internet signals beamed from
SpaceX satellites in low-Earth orbit, can be placed on physical structures. But
instead of being physically placed at the White House, the Starlink system is
now said to be routed through a White House data center, with existing fiber
cables, miles from the complex.
White House officials said the installation was an effort to increase internet
availability at the complex. They said that some areas of the property could not
get cell service and that the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure was overtaxed.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the effort was “to
improve Wi-Fi connectivity on the complex.”
But the circumstances are different from any previous situation to resolve
internet services. Mr. Musk, who is now an unpaid adviser working as a “special
government employee” at the White House, controls Starlink and other
companies that have regulatory matters before or contracts with the federal
government. Questions about his business interests conflicting with his status
as a presidential adviser and major Trump donor have persisted for weeks.
In February, Chris Stanley, who currently works as a security engineer at two of
Mr. Musk’s companies, SpaceX and the social media platform X, went to the
roof of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House complex to
explore installing Starlink there. Mr. Stanley has also been working with Mr.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as a special government
employee, and on Monday, President Trump named him to the board of Fannie
Mae.
As Mr. Stanley opened a door leading to the roof of the building, which is
directly opposite an entrance to the White House, he tripped an alarm that
alerted the Secret Service to his presence. It created a dramatic scene as a
uniformed officer rushed to respond, according to four people with knowledge
of the incident.
A fifth person with knowledge of the event said Mr. Stanley was told earlier by
the Secret Service that he could check out the roof, but the agency had not
coordinated a time for Mr. Stanley’s arrival.
Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman, said that the White House “was
aware of DOGE’s intentions to improve internet access on the campus” and that
it “did not consider this matter a security incident or security breach.”
Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesman, also said it was not
considered a breach or a security incident.
White House officials said that Starlink had “donated” the service and that the
gift had been vetted by the lawyer overseeing ethics issues in the White House
Counsel’s Office.
Some former officials were unclear about how such a donation could work.
Clare Martorana, a former chief information officer at the White House during
the Biden administration, said that typically people cannot simply give
technology to the government. She said the White House’s chief information
officer would need to sign off on a new system to ensure it was properly
secured, as would the chief information officer at the General Services
Administration.
Mr. Stanley worked to set up the new Starlink system in concert with the White
House information technology office, which he is an adviser to while also being
assigned to work at the Justice Department, one of the people familiar with the
matter said.
The White House is the latest government property on which Starlink now
operates.
In recent weeks, Starlink was also set up at the General Services
Administration, which has served as a hub for Mr. Musk’s government-shrinking
efforts, according to documents and people familiar with the service.
While several federal agencies contract with Starlink, the satellite service is
typically used to provide internet access in emergency situations and to remote
locations — not at federal buildings in Washington, which already have ample
internet options.
Starlink is generally seen as a reliable network. In October, the Federal
Emergency Management Agency contracted with Starlink to distribute
terminals for the service across North Carolina after Hurricane Helene hit the
state. The service has also been crucial to Ukraine’s defenses against Russia,
with SpaceX estimating to the Defense Department that it cost $400 million to
support the effort over a 12-month period around 2022.
It is less clear, however, that the Starlink internet service will significantly
expand wireless internet capacity in buildings where fiber cables already
provide access.
It was also unclear if Starlink communications were encrypted. At a minimum,
the system allows for a network separate from existing White House servers
that people on the grounds are able to use, keeping that data separate.
“It’s super rare” to install Starlink or another internet provider as a
replacement for existing government infrastructure that has been vetted and
secured, said Jake Williams, a vice president for research and development at
Hunter Strategy, a cybersecurity consultancy. “I can’t think of a time that I have
heard of that.”
“It introduces another attack point,” Mr. Williams said. “But why introduce that
risk?”
One official with knowledge of the discussions about installing Starlink at the
White House, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said the Secret Service
was concerned that the Starlink system might be piped in through existing
secure hard wiring at the White House that is used by the Secret Service, as
well as other federal agencies. The fact that the internet service is now working
through a different data hub appears to have addressed that concern.
At the General Services Administration, where the use of Starlink was reported
earlier by NBC News, the service has been added to a list of apps approved for
download on the agency’s mobile devices. That list also includes apps of two
other Musk-led companies, X and Tesla, according to documents seen by The
New York Times.
“Only apps that meet G.S.A.’s security and privacy standards are allowed,” an
agency spokesman said in a statement. The agency declined to comment on its
use of Starlink.
Mr. Musk has expressed frustration at what he views as outdated technology in
government and blazed ahead with an effort to modernize it.
Soon after Mr. Trump was sworn in, Mr. Musk complained that a digital system
known as WAVES, which allows the Secret Service to approve guests to enter
the White House grounds, was clunky. Some White House officials shared that
assessment. Mr. Musk tasked Mr. Stanley with fixing it, according to two people
briefed on the matter.
Mr. Guglielmi, the Secret Service spokesman, said the agency “collaborates
closely with” Mr. Musk’s team and has continuing discussions. At this time, he
added, “no formal changes have been made to the White House visitor access
system.”
Jonathan Swan and Tyler Pager contributed reporting.
Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent, reporting on the second,
nonconsecutive term of Donald J. Trump. More about Maggie Haberman
Kate Conger is a technology reporter based in San Francisco. She can be
reached at kate.conger@nytimes.com. More about Kate Conger
Eileen Sullivan is a Times reporter covering the changes to the federal work
force under the Trump administration. More about Eileen Sullivan
Ryan Mac covers corporate accountability across the global technology
industry. More about Ryan Mac
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