Fear of losing US Space Command unites Colorado’s congressional delegation

An intense lobbying campaign is expanding over more than 1,200 miles, from Colorado Springs to Alabama, as congressional representatives from both countries battle over access to the permanent US Space Headquarters. Command.

Elected officials in Colorado want to keep the command at Peterson Space Force Base, where it has been based since the service was restarted in the summer of 2019 under then-President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Alabama’s delegation to Congress intends to locate the command headquarters at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, where Trump had moved in the waning days of his first term in the White House.

That order was rescinded by President Joe Biden — a decision that kept the service in Colorado Springs, where the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce estimates it supports about 1,400 jobs and has a $1 billion economic impact. local.

“It’s a fully operational and capable command,” US Ambassador Jason Crow said in an interview with The Denver Post. “It’s continuing to build and do the job it’s supposed to do. We can’t shake it – we’ll be putting our national security at risk if we do.”

But in a preview of what could be a tough patch ahead, Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama this week told a local TV station that he hopes President Trump will “turn it back,” and I think, before his time.

That fact was confirmed by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., told a Mobile radio station that he thinks the president-elect will soon sign an executive order restoring the order to Huntsville.

Crow, a Democrat and former Army Ranger, said he had a conversation with seven other members of the state’s congressional delegation — in addition to Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet – and they plan to “work hand in hand” to keep the US Space Command in Colorado.

The command is responsible for military operations in outer space, which starts at 62 kilometers above sea level. The Pentagon continues to be concerned about the rapid development of China and Russia in space-based activities that threaten US forces and other military assets on the ground, as well as American satellites in orbit, the New York Times report earlier this year.

Newly elected US Ambassador Gabe Evans told reporters at a press conference last week that he was on “Team Colorado” when it came to the Space Command stay. The Republican Army expert and former police officer, who fired Yadira Caraveo on Nov. 5 in the 8th Congressional District, said the move would be too expensive.

“Why do you want to spend money to get it out of there?” he asked.

Evans said his grandfather, a Navy pilot, moved to Colorado to work in the state’s powerful aviation industry 50 years ago.

“That’s why I live in Colorado — because of our aviation department,” he said.

Evans is part of the GOP half of Colorado’s congressional delegation that could have the most influence on Trump as he approaches the executive order decision. All four are closed to maintain service in Colorado.

US Representative-elect Jeff Crank, whose new district is home to the order, was unavailable for comment this week. But he told The Post this month that “it makes sense to keep it here.” US Rep.-elect Jeff Hurd, who will represent the West Slope in the new Congress, said the same thing in a statement Thursday.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, a strong Trump supporter who is returning to Congress in January to represent Colorado’s 4th District, said “protecting and keeping all of our military assets in Colorado is the best way to keep our nation strong without and any threat of disruption could undermine our ability to protect Americans.”

Huntsville scored higher than Colorado Springs in the Government Accountability Office’s review of potential sites for the mandate. The city has long been home to some of the oldest missiles used in the nation’s space programs, including the Saturn V rocket, and is home to the Army’s Space Force and Missile Defense Forces.

The same office, however, offered a low rating system for documents, reliability and impartiality and said senior US officials interviewed indicated that there remains Colorado Springs “could allow US Space Command to reach full operational capability as quickly as possible.”