Trump is forcing states to funnel grant money to Starlink, Senate Democrats say

Lutnick’s announcement of the BEAD overhaul also criticized what he called the program’s “woke mandates” and “burdensome regulations.” Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have criticized a requirement for ISPs that accept subsidies to offer low-cost Internet plans to people with low incomes, though the low-cost rule was originally imposed by Congress in the law that created the BEAD program.

Letter: Projects could be delayed two years

Although Musk last week announced his departure from the government and criticized a Trump spending bill for allegedly “undermining” DOGE’s cost-cutting work, Trump still seems favorably inclined toward Starlink. Trump said in a press conference on Friday that with Starlink, Musk “saved a lot of lives, probably hundreds of lives in North Carolina,” referring to Starlink offering emergency connectivity after Hurricane Helene.

Democrats’ letter to Trump and Lutnick said that fiber and other terrestrial broadband technologies will be better than satellite both for residential connectivity and business networks that support US-based manufacturing.

“Data centers, smart warehouses, robotic assembly lines, and chip fabrication plants all depend on fast, stable, and scalable bandwidth. If we want these job-creating facilities built throughout the United States, including rural areas… we must act now—and we must build the high-speed, high-capacity networks those technologies demand,” the letter said.

Democrats also said the Trump administration’s rewrite of program rules could delay projects by two years.

“For six months, states have been waiting to break ground on scores of projects, held back only by the Commerce Department’s bureaucratic delays,” the letter said. “If states are forced to redo or rework their plans, they will not only miss this year’s construction season but next year’s as well, delaying broadband deployment by years. That’s why we urge the Administration to move swiftly to approve state plans, and release the $42 billion allocated to the states by the BEAD Program.”

Separately from BEAD, Trump said last month that he is killing a $2.75 billion broadband grant program authorized by Congress. The Digital Equity Act of 2021 allows for several types of grants benefitting low-income households, people who are at least 60 years old, people incarcerated in state or local prisons and jails, veterans, people with disabilities, people with language barriers, people who live in rural areas, and people who are members of a racial or ethnic minority group. Trump called the program “racist and illegal,” saying his administration would stop distributing Digital Equity Act grants.