Colorado's elected leaders are pointing to former president Trump's recent comment about Space Command as a reason to reconsider making Alabama its permanent home.
This week Trump told the syndicated radio show "Rick&Bubba" that he alone made the last-minute decision to move the Command headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama.
“Space Force - I sent to Alabama,” said Trump, according to the news site AL.com. “I hope you know that. (They) said they were looking for a home and I single-handedly said ‘let’s go to Alabama.' They wanted it. I said, 'let’s go to Alabama. I love Alabama.'”
While Trump referred to 'Space Force', what is actually going to Alabama is Space Command, which is currently temporarily housed in Colorado Springs. Space Force, the newest branch of the military, is based at the Pentagon.
“Former President Trump has admitted what we already knew: that he made a strictly political decision to move Space Command and completely disregarded both critical national security and budgetary considerations," said Democratic Senator John Hickenlooper in an emailed statement. "This is exactly why we’ve called for a review and reconsideration of the decision. We look forward to the Air Force doing just that -- looking at what is best for our national security -- and making sure Space Command is located where it belongs, in Colorado Springs.”
Senator Michael Bennet also criticized the comments and said they showed the need to investigate the selection process.
Colorado was one of several potential permanent homes in the running when the Air Force announced it had chosen Huntsville, just days before Trump left office. According to Air Force documents obtained by Al.com, Alabama bested its competitors on most of the selection criteria.
That decision is currently under review, both by the Government Accountability Office and the Defense Department's Office of the Inspector General. And Colorado's leaders continue to lobby the Biden Administration to revisit the selection.
“Colorado is the natural home for Space Command," said Gov. Polis and Lt. Governor Primavera in a joint statement Friday. "These callous comments fly in the face of Coloradans, military families, and those who have worked to cultivate our aerospace ecosystem that is suited to guarantee the operational success of U.S. Space Command and deliver the best value to taxpayers ... it's clear that the former President - now through his own admission - made this misguided decision for political or personal purposes.”
The former president holds a rally in Alabama Saturday evening.
