Trump will move Space Command from Colorado to Alabama

President Donald Trump plans to announce Tuesday that U.S. Space Command will move from Colorado to Alabama, according to three people familiar with the decision.

The cross-country move reverses former President Joe Biden’s decision not to relocate the command, which oversees military space operations and the defense of satellites. It also reinstates a plan Trump made in the final days of his first term.

The decision ends a bitter yearslong turf war between Alabama and Colorado leaders over the best home for the unit. Each side argued the other benefited from politically motivated decisions by either Trump or Biden to reward states that voted for them.

Trump’s Oval Office announcement Tuesday afternoon was preempted by the Pentagon, whose website posted a link to the anticipated livestream with the caption “U.S. Space Command HQ Announcement.” The website was later edited to remove a mention of Space Command.

The command will head to Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal in the coming years, departing its location at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs. Biden canceled the move in 2023, opting to keep the command in Colorado.

Trump has said previously that he personally chose Alabama over Colorado and other potential sites. Alabama lawmakers had long projected confidence that Trump would return to his original decision to move the command to Huntsville.

Colorado’s delegation has argued that moving Space Command would hurt national security. The unit became fully operational in 2023 at the Colorado Springs site, and state leaders contend moving it across the country would hurt the military’s ability to defend U.S. space assets. They also argue Space Command will lose many of its civilian workers and contractors, who won’t agree to move across the country.

Colorado Republicans, including close Trump ally Rep. Lauren Boebert, said in recent months that the state was still in the mix due to the national security imperative of the space mission.

But Alabama leaders pointed to Huntsville’s higher rank in most of the Air Force’s basing criteria as proof they won the competition. Moving to Alabama will also likely prove cheaper than staying in Colorado due to lower costs.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, predicted in April that the Trump administration would select Alabama. Contractors are “ready to turn dirt on the day the announcement’s made,” he said.

Alabama has also pointed to backing from Biden’s Air Force secretary, Frank Kendall, for moving Space Command to Huntsville.

A Pentagon watchdog report, released in April, noted Kendall supported putting the command at Redstone Arsenal, which the Air Force projected would cost $426 million less due to lower construction and personnel costs. But Space Command leadership, then headed by Gen. James Dickinson, warned against moving due to the risks to readiness.

Jack Detsch and Paul McLeary contributed to this report.