Nathan Johnson said on July 10 that he would investigate whether SpaceX received preferential treatment for roughly $110 million in Texas BEAD broadband grants if voters elect him attorney general. The Democratic state senator called the subgrant selection process one that sure looks like corruption and said it has undermined public confidence in state bidding.
The Awards and Revised Selection Process
Texas awarded SpaceX and its Starlink service grants covering about 27 percent of the state's BEAD-eligible locations. Those awards reached roughly 63,887 locations for approximately $108.8 million, one of 22 preliminary awards announced so far. The total represents less than one-tenth of Texas' roughly $1.2 billion BEAD allocation from the federal government.
The state revised its grant process after June 2025 federal guidance under the Trump administration encouraged states to weigh lower-cost technologies such as low-earth orbit satellite service alongside traditional fiber. Johnson pointed to those changes as evidence that criteria shifted in ways that favored certain providers over others.
Johnson's Focus on the Governor's Office and Musk Ties
Johnson alleged that changes to the grant criteria came at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott's office. He has centered his scrutiny on the governor's influence and on Elon Musk's donations and business interests in the state. The candidate said the outcome has damaged trust in how Texas awards public contracts for broadband expansion.
SpaceX has pursued similar challenges to BEAD awards in other states, including Colorado, Virginia and Wisconsin. In those cases the company argued for greater weight on satellite service when states evaluate bids. Johnson's pledge to review the Texas awards places the attorney general's office at the center of any future disputes over the same program.
