DENVER — On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) headquarters will be relocating from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama, a move that was immediately criticized by Colorado leaders of both parties.
“We initially selected Huntsville for the SPACECOM headquarters, yet those plans were wrongfully obstructed by the Biden administration,” Trump said.
Trump said the move will provide the U.S. with a strategic advantage when it comes to national security.
“Well, it just works because we have so much else there,” Trump said about the Huntsville location. “We had four different groups of experts. They all said this was the best location.”
- Explore the history of the fight over Space Command in the timeline below:
But it soon became clear that politics also played a role in the president’s decision. He said Colorado’s mail-in voting system was a big reason he wants to move U.S. Space Command headquarters.
“The problem I have with Colorado, one of the big problems, they do mail-in voting,” Trump said. “They went to all mail-in voting, so they have automatically crooked elections, and we can't have that. When a state is for mail-in voting, that means they want dishonest elections, because that's what that means, so that played a big factor also.”
Trump has long criticized mail-in voting. Without providing any evidence, he has claimed that mail-in voting has caused widespread voter fraud. Last month, Trump vowed to end mail-in ballots through an executive order.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said Trump was using U.S. Space Command as a political pawn.
“It seems that Trump ultimately does not like the state of Colorado because Coloradans have rejected him three times in our free and fair elections,” Griswold said. “He seeks to blame, so he blames mail ballots instead of looking at his failing policies and then tries to punish the state.”
Politics
CO congressional delegation join other leaders in opposing Space Command move
Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet said Trump’s move was “a naked abuse of power and a blatant political decision.”
“His comments about Colorado’s gold standard mail-in voting system tell you everything you need to know about why he made this move,” Bennet said. “We will fight it every step of the way.”
Colorado Congresswoman Brittany Petterson, a Democrat who represents the 7th Congressional District, described Trump’s comments about Colorado’s elections as “more distractions and more lies.”
“This is political retribution because Coloradans don’t like Trump – and that makes me proud,” Pettersen said.
Those statements were sharper in their criticism than a statement released earlier in the day by Colorado’s entire Congressional delegation.
"Today’s decision to move U.S Space Command’s headquarters out of Colorado and to Alabama will directly harm our state and the nation. We are united in fighting to reverse this decision,” the delegation said. “Bottom line—moving Space Command headquarters weakens our national security at the worst possible time.”
Colorado Congressman Jeff Crank, a Republican who represents the 5th District, where Space Command is located, said he is disappointed and concerned about the workers who support the military’s operational capability.
“While such a move will take years to implement, I am confident that this is not an across-the-board move and that important assets and jobs related to the Space Command mission will remain in El Paso County,” Crank said. “I have also been told that Space Force missions will continue to expand in our community, and our military installations will play an integral part in President Trump’s Golden Dome initiative.”
Crank said he continues to have “productive discussions” with the Trump administration to minimize the impact on the community.
“I am confident that when the dust settles, our community will have more jobs and more Department of Defense missions than today,” Crank said.
Colorado Springs Area
Former Springs mayor: Space Command move 'makes no sense,' could cost billions
Moving the U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama would cost billions of dollars and take years to carry out.
It would ultimately be up to Congress to determine whether to provide the funding for the relocation. It's possible Congress could provide funding to relocate some elements to Alabama, while denying funding for relocating other elements.
According to a U.S. Space Command report to the U.S. Senate, 1,700 personnel are assigned to the Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs, with an additional 18,000 people supporting their efforts around the world.
