Colorado officials want to keep Space Command in state, ask Pentagon to reconsider Trump's relocation

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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and a group of bipartisan state officials are urging Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to reconsider and "pause" former President Donald Trump's decision to move U.S. Space Command from Colorado Springs to Alabama, saying it will "undermine" the country's ability to respond to national security threats in space.

The U.S. Air Force last month announced that Space Command's headquarters would be officially moved to Huntsville, Ala.'s, Redstone Arsenal after an intense lobbying battle between six finalists — which included Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.

In a letter to Austin, Polis, Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers and a group of bipartisan state legislators requested that he "pause the move" and "conduct a thorough review of the previous administration's last-minute decision to move USSPACECOM" from Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs to Alabama.

COLORADO OFFICIALS BALK AT TRUMP DECISION TO MOVE SPACE COMMAND HQ TO ALABAMA

"Without a review, this hasty decision will undermine our country’s ability to respond to national security threats in space," they wrote, adding that they "have concerns about the transparency, impartiality, and bias of the process that the previous administration used when coming to a final decision that should be addressed prior to any final decision on permanent basing."

The state leaders said there is "significant risk that this hastily made and nontransparent decision will be disruptive to the service members and civilians who are conducting the current mission."

"Colorado is home to unique military and intelligence space assets and is currently the nexus of military and intelligence space operations," they wrote. "Experienced personnel with appropriate skills and expertise and proper resourcing are successfully conducting their mission here in Colorado Springs. Furthermore, Colorado Springs, and Colorado's existing way of life and workforce will both attract and retain workforces, while our local institutions of higher education will train the space workforce of tomorrow."

Screen capture: Spaceforce.mil

The Colorado state officials noted that when the government relocated the Missile Defense Agency to Huntsville, "80% of its civilian workforce opted not to relocate."

"This nation cannot afford such disruption to the mission in the face of current threats," they warned.

Last month, in an interview with Fox News, Suthers slammed the move as a "politically motivated decision."

"If looked at objectively, in terms of the cost of moving and stability of Space Command and national security, it makes no sense whatsoever— in interest of national security or the American taxpayer," Suthers told Fox News.

Suthers also told Fox News that the Air Force had advised Trump to keep Space Command in their city.

But a source familiar told Fox News that Trump left the decision up to Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett.

Last month, Barrett, along with the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, John Henderson, went to the White House to meet with Trump and other senior Trump administration officials to discuss where the new home of Space Command should be, said two Defense officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the meeting.

The officials told Fox News that Barrett carried with her the "detailed analysis," which included the recommendation.

"The analysis put Redstone on top," the official told Fox News of the Redstone Arsenal, located in Huntsville, dubbed the "Rocket City" for its association with space.

SPACE COMMAND TO BE HEADQUARTERED IN ALABAMA, IN 'WIN' FOR TRUMP ALLIES IN STATE

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile command, US. Missile Defense Agency as well as the Defense Intelligence Agency’s missile and space intelligence center are some of the space operations located in Huntsville.

The Saturn V rocket, which took the first Americans to the moon, was developed at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville in the 1960s. The aerospace industry has remained a major component of northern Alabama’s economy in the decades since.

But the prospect of leaving Colorado would not be easy for thousands of Air Force personnel and contractors who have called the Rocky Mountains home for decades.  Over 18,000 people are based at the combined Peterson-Schriever Garrison, the current home of U.S. Space Command, according to Air Force officials.

"Our space people grew up in Colorado, that’s their home," one Air Force official said. "It’s where all our space stuff is."

The garrison brings in an estimated $2.6 billion annually to Colorado Springs, according to the base website.

The official said that in the short term, it makes sense for U.S. Space Command to remain in Colorado Springs but admitted the facilities in the area are "very full."  

There would be more opportunity to expand in Huntsville, another official told Fox News.  

Another official added that some of the analysis pointed to long-term gains for Air Force families in Alabama, including schooling and other areas of child development. 

It could be up to six years before U.S. Space Command finds a new home due to the environmental impact study that needs to be launched, the Air Force says.

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U.S. Space Command was brought back into existence last year for the first time since being deactivated in 1982. Between 1982 and 2019, all Air Force space units had been moved under U.S. Strategic Command, which runs America’s nuclear arsenal. Early warning satellites detect missile launches all over the world, and reconnaissance satellites routinely photograph military hardware from countries such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. Most of the Air Force’s space units have been based in Colorado, where many lawmakers and the Air Force brass had hoped it would stay.

The other finalists included Peterson Air Force Base, Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, Patrick Air Force Base in Florida and Port San Antonio in Texas.

Sources familiar with the behind-the-scenes dynamic told Fox News that Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who until last week was the Senate Appropriations committee chairman, made the headquarters a major focus of his negotiations during the appropriations process in the Senate.

Rep. Mo Brooks, R.-Ala., in whose district the headquarters will be located, freshman Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R.-Ala., and Cliff Sims, a senior intelligence official and former Trump aide, also an Alabama native, all made direct pitches to the White House and the Pentagon in favor of Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal, the sources said.

A source familiar with the situation also told Fox News that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, among others, made direct pitches to the president in an attempt to win the headquarters for their states.

SPACE FORCE 'ABSOLUTELY' HAS 'FULL SUPPORT' OF BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, PSAKI SAYS

The move to Alabama has been seen as an early win for Tuberville, one of the 13 GOP senators that contested Joe Biden’s win in the presidential election.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki this week confirmed that the U.S. Space Force "absolutely" has the "full support" of the Biden administration. Psaki said the White House is "not revisiting the decision" to establish the sixth branch of the U.S. military. 

"They absolutely have the full support of the Biden administration," Psaki said. "And we are not revisiting the decision to establish the Space Force."

"The desire for the Department of Defense to focus greater attention and resources on the growing security challenges in space has long been a bipartisan issue, informed by numerous independent commissions and studies conducted across multiple administrations," Psaki continued, adding that "thousands of men and women proudly serve" in the Space Force.

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Psaki added that the Space Force "was established by Congress and any other steps would actually have to be taken by Congress, not by the administration."

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.