President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he is reviving a plan to permanently base Space Command in Huntsville, Alabama.
鈥淚 am thrilled to report that the U.S. Space Command Headquarters will move to the beautiful locale of a place called Huntsville, Alabama,鈥� Trump said, surrounded by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance and Alabama lawmakers, and noting that he won the state by 47 points, before adding, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that influenced my decision.鈥�
Trump noted he initially chose Alabama as the home of Space Command, 鈥測et those plans were wrongfully obstructed by the Biden administration, and as you know, .鈥�
The command has been operating from Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs since . It achieved there in late 2023.
While Trump thanked Colorado, he cited a non-military reason for playing a big factor in moving the command to Alabama. 鈥淭he problem I have with Colorado, one of the big problems, they do mail-in voting 鈥� so they have automatically crooked elections.鈥�
Audits and investigations have repeatedly confirmed of Colorado鈥檚 vote.
Trump was praised by Alabama lawmakers for moving the headquarters to their state. Sen. Tommy Tuberville went so far as to hint it would be named for Trump. 鈥淲e look forward to building a huge space command and having the Donald J. Trump Space Command Center in Huntsville, Alabama.鈥�
Alabama lawmakers accused Biden of making a political decision when he announced during his term that Space Command would stay in Colorado. It鈥檚 the same argument that Colorado lawmakers lobbed against Trump when he initially made the decision to place the command in Huntsville in 2021.
No timeline for the move was given.
Colorado lawmakers criticize the move
In a joint statement, Colorado鈥檚 full Congressional delegation said the move will weaken national security at the 鈥渨orst possible time.鈥�
鈥淢oving Space Command sets our space defense apparatus back years, wastes billions of taxpayer dollars, and hands the advantage to the converging threats of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea,鈥� the delegation said in a statement. 鈥淭he Department of Defense Inspector General鈥檚 office has reported multiple times that moving the Command will impede our military鈥檚 operational capability for years.鈥�
The delegation said Colorado Springs is the appropriate home for the command and 鈥渨e will take the necessary action to keep it there.鈥�
They added that many of the current workers that the Space Command relies on might not move. Trump was asked about that and dismissed those concerns, saying the military would find someone else.
Gov. Jared Polis called the decision disappointing and wrong. He said it would be 鈥渄iminishing military readiness and national security and eroding the trust Americans have in our country and its leaders to do the right thing.鈥�
He added that Coloradans and Americans should get full transparency on how this 鈥減oor decision鈥� was made.
Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade described the decision as 鈥渄eeply disappointing,鈥� but not surprising.
鈥淲e have long understood this would be a priority of the Trump administration,鈥� he said in a statement. 鈥淟ooking forward, we remain hopeful. The space enterprise is growing rapidly, and Colorado Springs, already a global leader in space, will continue to see new opportunities for expansion and growth of our military capacity.鈥�
But it will likely be a hit to the city and the state鈥檚 economy. The governor鈥檚 office pointed out that in 2024, the state added more than 3,500 new aerospace and defense jobs. And during the announcement, Trump said the move will result in 鈥渕ore than 30,000 Alabama jobs鈥� and 鈥渉undreds of millions of dollars of investment.鈥�
As others said, the announcement was not unexpected, but Colorado鈥檚 members of Congress, Republicans in particular, had tried to head off the change.
In a joint letter to Trump in April asking him not to relocate operations, Colorado鈥檚 four GOP congress members stressed that 鈥渢ransferring the Command at such a turbulent time would jeopardize our national security, needlessly put American lives at risk, and create an unnecessary waste of taxpayer resources.鈥�
Reps. Jeff Crank, Lauren Boebert, Gabe Evans and Jeff Hurd wrote that the national security situation had changed since Trump first announced his intent to move the command to Alabama in January 2021. 鈥淢oving USSPACECOM would create a self-inflicted vulnerability at a time when foreign adversaries like the People鈥檚 Republic of China (PRC), Iran, and Russia are increasingly assertive, and when conflicts in the Middle East demand sustained vigilance,鈥� they wrote.
Still, the plea from Colorado Republicans seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.
A source familiar said some Colorado lawmakers were alerted as early as last week that this decision could come down.
Prior to Trump鈥檚 announcement, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said his office 鈥渉as been preparing鈥� for such 鈥渁n unlawful decision to move Space Command HQ.鈥�
鈥淚f the Trump administration takes this step 鈥� I鈥檓 prepared to challenge it in court,鈥� Weiser said in a statement. It is unclear what kind of legal recourse would be available to Colorado, since the president as commander-in-chief has broad decision making powers and Congress has power of the purse when it comes to basing decisions.
A back-and-forth that has spanned three administrations
Trump鈥檚 decision to move the command marks the latest twist in a saga that has lasted years.
During the final week of his first term in office, Trump decided to award the permanent Space Command headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama, reportedly over the recommendation of U.S. Air Force generals to keep it in Colorado Springs.
After leaving office, Trump told an Alabama radio show that he 鈥渟ingle-handedly鈥� decided to move the command to the state. For many Colorado officials, it was proof that he鈥檇 made the decision for political reasons, not national security ones. Alabama voted for Trump twice, Colorado supported his Democratic opponents.
Once Biden was in office, Colorado lawmakers , pointing to for ranking finalist locations and noting that the key factor of full operational capability was not weighed accurately.
After more than two years of review, in July 2023, Biden reversed Trump鈥檚 decision to move the command to Alabama, out of concern it could put military readiness at risk, among other factors.
However, with President Trump鈥檚 victory last November, many expected him to revisit the basing decision and return to his original selection.
A statement from the Pentagon said the administration followed 鈥渁 thorough and deliberate evaluation process鈥� and had input from senior military leaders in deciding to keep the command in Colorado Springs.
