HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – After years of uncertainty, U.S. Space Command may finally find a permanent home in Huntsville.
According to multiple Alabama congressmen, President-Elect Donald Trump plans to move Space Command to Huntsville once he is back in office in January.
Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, who is also Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, spoke on Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” (106.5 FM) on Monday, saying Trump plans to sign an executive order to move Space Command to Redstone Arsenal his first week back at the White House.
“Colorado Springs will not be the future capital of Space Command. It will be Huntsville, Alabama. We won it fair and square,” Rogers said.
This move was originally decided in Trump’s first term in office, but despite the Air Force ranking Huntsville as its most preferred location for Space Command in 2021, President Biden’s administrations picked Colorado Springs, Colorado — #5 on the Air Force’s list.
Alabama’s Junior Senator, Katie Britt, says all the metrics showed Space Command belongs in Huntsville, and she feels Biden played politics in ordering Space Command headquarters in Colorado.
“If you think about Colorado, which ultimately was wrongfully selected by Joe Biden, they came in fifth. Interestingly, though, they were the highest ranked blue state out of all the states that were ranked,” Britt said. “So, number one (Alabama), then two, three, four were all red states. Interesting that Joe Biden decided that he would plop Space Command down in Colorado.”
Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt has been a strong advocate for Space Command’s move to Huntsville since he says Trump began the transition process at the end of his first term.
Aderholt says he hasn’t spoken with Trump since the election, but he’s confident that what Rogers said on the radio show is true.
“I will be very shocked if [Trump] does not announce something in the very near future. I don’t know whether it’ll be in the next week, but it very well could be,” Aderholt said. “You don’t want to be 100% sure until you see the handwriting on the wall, but I feel very good about it. I’d rather be where we are in North Alabama than where Colorado is.”
U.S. Space Command currently employs around 1,200 people, and Aderholt says it belongs in Huntsville, sometimes referred to “The Rocket Capital of the World.”
“It just made sense from an economic standpoint and just a logistics standpoint that North Alabama would be where it would land,” he said. “Having the President of Space Command will be a game-changer.”
Aderholt added that this move will only further solidify the city’s reputation. He and Rogers expect construction to start for the new headquarters in Redstone Arsenal once Trump’s executive order is official.
Rogers sent WAFF 48 a statement on Tuesday evening, saying:
“I am incredibly excited to work with President Trump to ensure Space Command is based in its rightful home in Huntsville. President Trump initially chose Huntsville to be the home of Space Command because it was the best location. When President Biden tried to reverse that decision, he was putting his far-left politics above national security as he did in so many other circumstances. Now, the American people have resoundingly chosen President Trump and his policies. As Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, I am excited to work with a real Commander in Chief. As an Alabamian, I am increasingly optimistic that we will see Space Command come home to the Yellowhammer state.”
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