The Trump administration had planned to move U.S. Space Command from Peterson Air Force Base, near Colorado Springs, to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala.
President Biden has decided against relocating the headquarters of U.S. Space Command to Alabama, senior officials said Monday, upending a controversial decision by his predecessor as the Trump administration was coming to an end.
The organization, overseen by a four-star general, was to be moved from Peterson Air Force Base, outside of Colorado Springs, to Redstone Arsenal, an Army installation in Huntsville, Ala. Biden decided that doing so would be too disruptive to military readiness, officials said, siding with Colorado lawmakers who have protested the plan for more than two years.
Critics had said that the Trump administration’s decision was rushed as he left office and intended to reward a deeply conservative state by moving an influential military headquarters out of one that leans Democratic. The command is expected to bring 1,400 jobs and nearly $1 billion in annual economic spending, officials in Colorado have said previously.
Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said that the decision was made “following a deliberate evaluation” and after consultation with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
