In brief

• Senate Democrats plan investigations into Trump administration actions once they take a Congressional majority in January 2027.
• The Foreign Relations Committee has asked firms and agencies to preserve records, including a letter to Elon Musk about Starshield limits in Ukraine.
• Requests also went to ports, banks and firms linked to a Russian diesel deal, and committee leadership is set to change.

Preservation letters sent ahead of a Democratic-led probe

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has sent letters to private companies and government bodies asking them to keep documents and records that could be needed for future inquiries, according to a Democratic aide cited by CNN (CNN: демократи хочуть перевірити дії Маска щодо уповільнення Starlink для України – Українська правда). The aide described the move as a standard committee procedure aimed at preserving evidence, not as an accusation of wrongdoing.

What Democrats want to examine

One letter went to SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk and concerns limits on the operation of the Starshield satellite system in Ukraine (Сенат США расследует действия администрации Трампа в отношении ограничений для Starshield и торговли российским дизелем — CNN – NV) (Сенат США проведе розслідування щодо обмежень Starshield в Україні, - CNN – UNIAN). Ports, banks and private firms linked to a deal involving Russian diesel fuel received similar requests (Маску готують великі неприємності: у США взялися за скандальну історію зі Starlink – TSN).

Ukrainian officials said on October 14 that Starlink connections under the military Starshield package were being cut at speeds above 160 km/h, which disrupted missions and made interceptor drones less effective against jet-powered Shahed drones. The Pentagon has declined to investigate those restrictions, according to a separate report.

Timing and committee leadership

The probes are expected to begin in January 2027, when Democrats are set to hold a majority in Congress. Investigators are expected to review actions taken by the Trump administration over the past two years. Committee leadership is also changing: senior member Jeanne Shaheen is retiring, and Senator Chris Coons is expected to become chair.

Defense bill outlook

A Democratic aide said no major changes are expected to the National Defense Authorization Act. The base text passed by the Senate in July is broadly agreed with the House version, though the House has not yet voted on it.