Pentagon reviews last-minute Trump decision to move Space Command from Colorado



[ad_1]

The move, which the ex-president signed a week before stepping down last month, blinded Colorado officials and raised questions of political retaliation, the Associated Press reports.

Mr. Trump had hinted at a 2020 rally in Colorado Springs that the U.S. Space Command would remain at the city’s Peterson Air Force Base.

But following the loss of his seat by Republican Senator from Colorado, Cory Gardner, Mr. Trump decided to move the command headquarters in the US Army’s Redstone Dockyard to Huntsville, Alabama.

Mr. Trump won 62% of the vote in Alabam in the 2020 presidential election, and the state also elected a pro-Trump senator, Tommy Tuberville.

Now, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense has announced a relocation investigation to see if it is in line with Air Force and Pentagon policy.

“It is imperative that we take a deep look at what I believe will prove to be a fundamentally flawed process that focuses on bean counting rather than US space dominance,” said Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn, whose district includes Space Command.

Both Colorado’s Democratic senators also praised the review.

“The Moving Space Command will disrupt the mission while jeopardizing our national security and economic vitality,” Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper said in a joint statement.

US Space Command differs from US Space Force, the sixth and final branch of the US military created in 2019.

Space Command is not an individual military service but a central command for all military space operations.

It was dissolved in 2002 and also relaunched in 2019.

The Air Force accepted offers from six final sites, including Huntsville, before Mr Trump indicated that she would stay in Colorado.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

[ad_2]

Source link