'Betrayal': Ex-official warns new Trump move would be 'deeply negative' for rural America

Among the key pieces of President Joe Biden's landmark infrastructure bill was funding to finally ensure rural America could have high-speed internet. A former official said President Donald Trump's team is considering whether to change that to Elon Musk's Starlink.

Politico reported Sunday that a top Commerce Department official sounded the alarm in an email on his way out of the department.

For three years, Evan Feinman led the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program or BEAD, which has a budget of about $42 billion.

ALSO READ: The Tesla White House sales event of the year

ProPublica reporter Craig Silverman posted screen captures of the email on Bluesky.

"Stranding all or part of rural America with worse Internet so that we can make the world's richest man even richer is yet another in a long line of betrayals by Washington," wrote Feinman in the email.

He urged governors to work with their congressional delegations to fight back and stop implementing plans that could have "deeply negative outcomes" for rural America.

Under the Biden administration, states were encouraged to favor broadband technology like fiber because it's reliable and more affordable, The Guardian said in a report.

However, under the Trump administration, new Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wants to "revisit the program" to ensure the technology is "neutral."

"That change is likely to favor Musk’s company, Starlink, which owns about 62% of all operating satellites," the report said.

Using satellite internet would save communities money, but it wouldn't be as fast or reliable as fiber, the report said.

Feinman wrote in the email that he is "disappointed not to be able to see this project through."

"The new administration seems to want to make changes that ignore the clear direction laid out by Congress, reduce the number of American homes and businesses that get fiber connections, and increase the number that get satellite connections," he added.

The shift away from fiber "remains unknown, but regardless of size, it will be a disservice to rural and small-town America," Feinman also said.

While some parts of the proposal are "benign," Feinman warned of a "significant risk that the changes being proposed will be ill-considered and create deeply negative outcomes."

He urged citizens and state leaders to demand the Trump administration "fix BEAD by removing the requirements that have nothing to do with building infrastructure, NOT change it to benefit technology that delivers slower speeds at higher costs to the household paying the bill."

"There is still time to help the administration make the right call here. Reach out to your congressional delegation and reach out to the Trump Administration and tell them to strip out the needless requirements, but not to strip away from states the flexibility to get the best connections for their people," he added.

Silverman noted that the Trump administration did not fire Feinman. Rather, his "term ended, and he was not reappointed."

Read the full letter here.