BURSTThe bipartisan Colorado congressional delegation issued a joint statement on Tuesday condemning President Trump’s decision to relocate the U.S. Space Command's headquarters from their state to Alabama.
"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. Bottom line-moving Space Command headquarters weakens our national security at the worst possible time,” they wrote in their statement.
The Democratic and Republican lawmakers argued that the relocation would provide a strategic advantage to China, Russia and Iran and set “our space defense apparatus back years.”
They also said the move would waste billions of taxpayer dollars.
“Being prepared for any threats should be the nation's top priority; a crucial part of that is keeping in place what is already fully operational. Moving Space Command would not result in any additional operational capabilities than what we have up and running in Colorado Springs now,” they wrote. “Colorado Springs is the appropriate home for U.S. Space Command, and we will take the necessary action to keep it there."
The lawmakers also warned of the consequences to the local economy and to staffing at the Space Command, which, they said, now rely on “a large number” of civilian businesses and workers in the area.
“Those people will not simply move with the Command at the military's whim. Many of them will leave the industry altogether, creating a disruption in the workforce that will take our national defense systems decades to recreate,” they wrote.
Trump on Tuesday announced the Command’s headquarters would move to Alabama, ending a nearly five-year battle over its permanent location.
The decision reverses a Biden administration choice to keep Space Command at its temporary headquarters in Colorado after Trump, during his first term, decided to move it to Alabama. The decision, made in Trump’s final days in the White House, was decried by critics as last-minute favoritism for the heavily red state.
Space Command – which provides warning of missile launches, defends satellites, and enables satellite-based navigation and troop communication – is seen as a significant prize by both Alabama and Colorado. Elected officials from both sides have insisted their state would be the better location and for years have aggressively lobbied for the right to house the command.