Colorado reacts to losing Space Command, threatens lawsuit

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(The Center Square) – Colorado officials expressed great disappointment with President Donald Trump’s Tuesday announcement about plans to move the U.S. Space Command Headquarters from Colorado to Alabama.

The state attorney general said he's ready to sue over it.

This week's move follows former President Joe Biden’s 2023 decision to make the Colorado headquarters SPACECOM's permanent location. In December, the headquarters reached full operational capability at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said the White House decision is “deeply disappointing” for the state and the nation.

“This is the wrong decision, diminishing military readiness and national security and eroding the trust Americans have in our country and its leaders to do the right thing,” Polis said. “Uprooting Space Command will weaken national security and readiness, waste taxpayer dollars, and inconvenience military families.”

Trump did not specify why he made that decision, besides stating that Alabama “fought harder for it than anybody else.”

Huntsville, which is slotted to receive the headquarters, is home to the Redstone Army Airfield and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The Space and Missile Defense Command of the Army is also located there.

Currently Colorado has the largest private aerospace industry per capita in the country. Since 2020, aerospace employment has grown in the state by 24% and the state has secured $31 billion in federal contracts. In just 2024, Colorado added over 3,500 new aerospace and defense jobs.

“Space is critical to every component of American life, from our economy to our national security,” said Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera. “Our unparalleled aerospace and defense ecosystem has been vital to Space Command achieving full operational capability and executing the mission. This decision is deeply disappointing.”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said he is ready and willing to challenge Trump’s decision in court.

“The Trump administration should not play political games with our nation’s military readiness and military families,” Weiser said. “The Colorado Attorney General’s Office has been preparing in the event the president made such an unlawful decision to move Space Command HQ.”

Colorado Springs officials responded to the announcement, pointing out the cost to taxpayers of moving the headquarters.

“This move threatens operational continuity at a time when space-related threats are only increasing,” said Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade in a statement. “U.S. Space Command reached full operational capability in 2023 because of the unmatched talent here in Colorado Springs, much of which will not relocate. Losing that expertise in relocation risks mission success and wastes billions in taxpayer dollars.”

While Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, president and CEO of the Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC, also expressed disappointment in the president’s decision, she said the chamber respects it.

“The enemy is not another U.S. state; it is foreign adversaries. That’s where we must focus our efforts knowing there will be many other opportunities for mission growth in Colorado Springs,” Kleymeyer said. “Colorado Springs will remain a top location for aerospace and defense jobs and research and development.”