Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper released the following statement after former President Donald Trump admitted in an interview that he “single-handedly” made the decision to move the U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama:
“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. 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.”
In January, the Air Force announced that Huntsville, Alabama, would be the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command. Following this announcement, reports surfaced that President Trump had politicized the decision process to relocate Space Command from its provisional headquarters in Colorado Springs.
Earlier this year, Hickenlooper and Senator Michael Bennet led the entire Colorado Congressional Delegation in urging President Joe Biden to suspend the Trump administration’s decision to relocate U.S. Space Command until a thorough review of the decision was conducted.
In March, Hickenlooper, Bennet, and a bipartisan group of senators outlined recommendations for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General (IG) to include in the investigation of the decision.
During a congressional hearing in April, General James H. Dickinson, Commander of Space Command, acknowledged that there are many unanswered questions about the move, including its costs and impact on workforce retention.