President Joe Biden has decided to keep U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado, overturning a last-ditch decision by the Trump administration to move it to Alabama and ending months of politically fueled debate, according to senior U.S. officials.
The officials said Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinson’s view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership, who studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move.
Biden’s decision resulted in a rare moment of Colorado bipartisan agreement.
Colorado Springs Congressperson Doug Lamborn lauded the decision, focusing on the argument against Trump’s decision that Colorado Springs, and elsewhere in Colorado, already had the infrastructure in place to support the Space Command system.
“Colorado Springs has always been the legitimate home of U.S. Space Command’s headquarters, and I am delighted that today’s decision validates this fact,” Lamborn said. “I commend the Biden Administration for prioritizing national security above political interests and keeping USSPACECOM in its rightful home at Peterson Air Force Base.
“Colorado is also home to the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado (ADF-C) at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora,” Lamborn said in a statement. “These unparalleled missions, and existing infrastructure, make Colorado the nexus of national security space operations for the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense.”
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