Sen. Tommy Tuberville joined fellow Alabama pol Rep. Mike Rogers in blasting President Joe Biden for injecting politics into his decision earlier Monday to keep U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM) in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Biden’s move rebuffed the decision made by former President Donald Trump – and Air Force recommendation – to move the headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama.
Both Tuberville and Rogers, Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, vowed that this fight is not over.
“As soon as Joe Biden took office, he paused movement on that decision and inserted politics into what had been a fair and objective competition — not because the facts had changed, but because the political party of the sitting President had changed,” Tuberville said in a statement.
“This is absolutely not over. I will continue to fight this as long as it takes to bring Space Command where it would be best served — Huntsville, Alabama,” Tuberville said.
Biden made the decision to keep the headquarters in Colorado based on the advice of the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who said moving SPACECOM would jeopardize military readiness, among other factors.
Rogers isn’t buying it.
“Huntsville, Alabama was chosen to be the headquarters of U.S. Space Command because it was the strongest location and investigations by the DoD, IG, and GAO have upheld this decision,” Rogers said in his statement. “Yet, the Biden administration decided to make Colorado Springs, Colorado, which came in fifth in the Selection Phase, the location of the headquarters for U.S. Space Command. It’s clear that far-left politics, not national security, was the driving force behind this decision.
“This fight is far from over.”
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall favored Huntsville. Further, Tuberville echoed Rogers in saying that Alabama, Nebraska, and Texas were the top three choices, not Colorado.
“This decision to bypass the three most qualified sites looks like blatant patronage politics, and it sets a dangerous precedent that military bases are now to be used as rewards for political supporters rather than for our security,” Tuberville wrote.
Also in play is the fact that Tuberville has been holding up military nominations and promotions in protest of Pentagon policies that reimburse travel for troops seeking abortions.
“The senior senator from Alabama who claims to support our troops is now blocking more than 300 military operations with his extreme political agenda,” Biden said last week.
Colorado was established as the temporary site of SPACECOM until Trump decided to move it to Huntsville in the final days of his presidency.
“The White House choosing to not locate Space Command Headquarters in Alabama – the rightful selection – is very simply the wrong decision for national security. The fact that a CNN reporter is who first delivered the news to Alabama should say all,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a social media post.
