Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich has urged Democrats to cut government funding to Elon Musk’s businesses and work toward putting SpaceX and its Starlink satellite service under public ownership.
Musk hit back in a post on X on Oct. 25. “Stealing companies is a serious crime. Prison for Reich,” he wrote.
Reich made the comments on the Oct. 24 episode of The Coffee Klatch, a podcast he co-hosts with Heather Lofthouse. “It should be a public corporation. We should not ever have that kind of power in one person’s hands, one private person’s hands,” he said, according to The Post Millennial.
Reich, who served as labor secretary under President Bill Clinton, said Democrats should take action against Musk if they win control of Congress in the Nov. 3 midterm elections. No Democratic leader has endorsed the idea, and no bill has been introduced.
Musk warned last week that he would fight back against Democrats if they pursue investigations of him and his companies after the midterms.
Robert Reich’s call comes amid SpaceX scrutiny
The exchange follows new questions in Congress about SpaceX’s satellite services in Ukraine. On Oct. 22, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced an inquiry into restrictions on Starlink and Starshield, SpaceX’s military communications service.
In letters to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Musk, Blumenthal asked who has the authority to restrict or shut off the service and whether Ukraine was told in advance of any changes. He asked SpaceX to respond by Nov. 5.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Oct. 24 that Starshield was again working at speeds above 400 kilometers per hour (about 250 mph) after being limited to about 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph), the Kyiv Independent reported. “The speeds are now where they need to be,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.