President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the decision to move the headquarters of U.S. Space Command from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama.
"I am thrilled to report that the U.S. Space Command headquarters will move to the beautiful locale of a place called Huntsville, Alabama — forever to be known from this point forward as Rocket City," President Trump said at a press conference.
"This will result in more than 30,000 Alabama jobs and probably much more than that — and hundreds of billions of dollars of investment," he added. "... Most importantly, this decision will help America defend and dominate the high frontier as they call it."
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It's a move that has been a contentious issue for years. At the end of Trump’s first term, the Air Force named Huntsville as the planned site pending an environmental review.
After President Joe Biden took office, however, construction of the base did not begin. In 2023, Biden announced he would keep U.S. Space Command’s headquarters at its temporary location in Colorado Springs, saying differing opinions within the Defense Department made it best to leave the command in place because relocating operations could impair the nation’s ability to respond to security situations.
Republicans criticized Biden’s decision and called for investigations. A Department of Defense inspector general report released earlier this year said investigators "could not determine why the (former) SECAF did not make an announcement decision for the transition of USSPACECOM HQ" from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama.
The report noted that several senior Biden administration officials refused interviews without their lawyers, which hampered the inquiry.
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The new move, however, is expected to be met with legal challenges. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser told Scripps News in a statement that President Trump is "playing political games with our nation's military readiness and military families," adding that he may pursue legal action if the relocation moves forward. Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade called the relocation announcement "deeply disappointing."
"This move threatens operational continuity at a time when space-related threats are only increasing," he said in a statement obtained by Scripps News. "U.S. Space Command reached full operational capability in 2023 because of the unmatched talent here in Colorado Springs, much of which will not relocate. Losing that expertise in relocation risks mission success and wastes billions in taxpayer dollars."
