Trump Says He Is Moving Space Command Hq To Alabama Because Of Colorado's Mail-in Voting System

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that U.S. Space Command's office will move to Alabama from Colorado, reversing a determination nan Biden management made astir its main location.

In remarks astatine nan White House, Trump said he was making nan displacement successful portion because of Colorado's usage of mail-in voting.

"The problem I person pinch Colorado, 1 of nan large problems, they do mail-in voting, they went to each mail-in voting, truthful they person automatically crooked elections," Trump said successful nan Oval Office.

Colorado holds in-person elections, but each elector automatically receives a ballot successful nan mail.

"We can’t person that erstwhile a authorities is for mail-in voting, that intends they want dishonest elections, because that’s what that means. So that played a large facet also," Trump said while flanked by nan Alabama lawmakers who lobbied for Space Command's move to their state.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and respective Alabama Republicans astatine nan arena noted that it was President Joe Biden who changed Space Command’s office to Colorado from what was expected to beryllium Alabama.

Hegseth said that Trump was restoring its office to "precisely wherever it should be, based connected what nan Space Force, nan Air Force, your leadership," which he said will "give america strategical advantage successful nan future."

"That is Huntsville, Alabama," nan defense caput continued. "We are measurement up successful space, but this will guarantee we enactment leaps and bounds ahead, because that's nan astir important domain. Whoever controls nan skies will power nan early warfare. And Mr. President, coming you're ensuring that happens."

President Donald Trump arsenic nan emblem for nan caller nan U.S. Space Command is revealed successful nan Rose Garden astatine nan White House successful 2019.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images file

Trump created nan "Space Force" successful 2018 during his first word successful agency to compete pinch different world powers for illustration China and Russia successful space. While he had announced and it was later confirmed that Huntsville was nan preferred location for its headquarters, nan Biden management halted those plans successful 2023 because of concerns pinch Alabama's restrictive abortion law. As a result, nan caput of U.S. Space Command decided that twelvemonth that nan subject branch would build retired its office successful Colorado Springs instead.

Trump said Tuesday that nan move to Alabama would consequence successful 30,000 jobs successful nan authorities and lead to hundreds of billions of dollars successful investment. "Most importantly, this determination will thief America take sides and predominate nan precocious frontier, arsenic they telephone it," he said.

The president added that Space Command, from its caller location, will play a "key role" successful nan improvement of nan "Golden Dome," nan rocket defense strategy Trump wants modeled aft Israel's Iron Dome.

"We’re going to beryllium having a Golden Dome that nan likes of which nobody’s ever seen before, nan finest, nan best," he said.