This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at .
After declaring the Colorado delegation was 鈥渦nited in fighting to reverse鈥� President Trump鈥檚 decision , Colorado鈥檚 congressional Republicans said late last week that they 鈥渁re working with the Administration to minimize the impacts of this move.鈥�
In a glass-half-full statement as the news and its implications settled, the Republicans said they鈥檙e only expecting to lose 1,000 positions, instead of 1,700.
鈥淭his marks a significant improvement from the original projection and a positive outcome for our state. Further, important operational elements of Space Command will remain in Colorado Springs, preserving much of the economic driver for our region,鈥� GOP Reps. Jeff Crank, Lauren Boebert, Gabe Evans and Jeff Hurd said in a statement Friday evening.
They added that the move will take years to complete and that during that time, the Defense Department鈥檚 鈥減resence in Colorado is expected to continue its rapid growth,鈥� including the number of Space Force personnel, which should outpace any loss.
(On Friday, President Trump signed an order giving the Defense Department , but he can not officially change the name without Congressional approval.)
The Republicans noted that in recent years, the number of Space Force personnel in Colorado has increased by 1,500, and 500 more positions are expected in the coming years.
Boebert said the numbers came from both the White House and the Air Force.
When asked if the headquarters move was a done deal, Boebert told CPR News, 鈥淚t seems that way.鈥�
鈥淚t's unfortunate to see Space Command go, but we will still have a presence in Colorado,鈥� Boebert said. 鈥淎 lot of Golden Dome opportunities there. The majority of Space Force is in Colorado, and that's going to continue to grow. We're not losing our defense and aerospace industries. I believe that there's still many more opportunities for that, and we will continue to fight for more missions.鈥�
She added she鈥檇 also like to see more non-military federal offices relocate to red parts of Colorado, including potentially the BLM headquarters or 鈥渙ther federal offices out of Denver and into areas that actually support President Trump and aren't going against his agenda.鈥�
Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade said he鈥檚 been in close contact with Rep. Crank and other members of the state鈥檚 delegation.
鈥淚 do not expect to see a dramatic or immediate change in economic impact from this decision, and I鈥檓 confident Colorado Springs will continue to see growth in our aerospace and defense industries,鈥� Mobolade said in a statement. He plans on heading to D.C. next week to advocate for the city with federal partners.
Gov. Jared Polis said he was disappointed with what he called a 鈥減olitically motivated decision鈥� by Trump.
鈥淜eeping Space Command in Colorado is what鈥檚 best for national security, but the President made this decision,鈥� Polis said in a statement. 鈥淐olorado is home to one of the strongest aerospace and defense industries in the country, and I know that it will only continue to grow stronger 鈥� creating more jobs and economic growth for Coloradans.鈥�
Not all Democrats are willing to wave the white flag yet.
鈥淲e're going to look at mechanisms through the appropriations process, through the defense budget, to try to slow it down as much as we possibly can, because that's the right thing to do for our troops,鈥� said Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, who serves on the House Armed Services committee. That approach may not get much traction, though. Alabama representatives sit on the Appropriations committee, unlike Colorado lawmakers, while the chair of the House Armed Services committee is also an Alabamian.
CPR News reached out to the Defense Department, which had no update on a timeline for a move beyond what President Trump said at the announcement last Tuesday.
Alabama Rep. Dale Strong told CPR News that construction of a new Space Command headquarters is expected to take 14 to 18 months. He said the site had been picked out. But there are also other factors at play, like congressional funding for construction.
In their letter, Colorado鈥檚 Republicans wrote they鈥檇 been reassured nothing would happen quickly.
"We have also confirmed the move will take significant time to complete, and in the intervening years, the Department of War's presence in Colorado is expected to continue its rapid growth,鈥� they wrote, adding that that growth would outpace the loss of Space Command headquarters jobs.
Still, one congressional source with knowledge of the conversations said they didn鈥檛 put much stock in the number of jobs the Air Force said it would keep in Colorado.
鈥淚鈥檓 not convinced they know the difference between 500 positions or 5,000,鈥� they said, adding there was a lack of details from what units or jobs would move and what would stay in the state.
The source, who was granted anonymity to speak freely, added that while the delegation is split on the way forward, they鈥檙e giving Crank, whose district will be most directly impacted, some room to maneuver to bring other military elements to the state to make up for the loss of headquarters.
Crank鈥檚 office did not respond to questions about if he would continue to fight the move, and if so, how.
Still, another source familiar with the discussions and granted anonymity to speak candidly, said there are some people in Colorado Springs who thought the Republican lawmakers could have used their votes in a narrowly divided House as leverage to 鈥減ut this off.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to deflect, saying 鈥榳e鈥檙e going to bring all this other stuff,鈥� the source said. 鈥淭he stuff they鈥檙e talking about, like an extra thousand jobs in Space Force over the last five years, that鈥檚 stuff that was happening anyway.鈥�
Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser has said he was prepared to sue to stop the move.
鈥淚t鈥檚 wholly inappropriate and legally suspect for the president to decide the location of Space Command HQ based on how Colorado exercises its power under the U.S. Constitution to run our elections and our mail voting system,鈥� he said in a statement, referring to Trump鈥檚 statement that his decision was made in part because Colorado uses all-mail ballots.
