Republicans Aren't Happy With Biden's Call on Space Command

Reversing a order made by his predecessor, President Biden has decided US Space Command headquarters will remain in Colorado Springs. Then-President Trump had, in his final days in the White House, ordered it moved to Alabama, a decision some worried would cost taxpayers billions. Biden's administration reviewed that decision but delayed its final determination on where the permanent headquarters would be located; Colorado Springs was established as the temporary HQ location in 2019, and some had expected the five-year provisional term in Colorado to become permanent. Now, under Biden, it will, but Republicans are insisting the decision was politically motivated, the New York Times reports.

That's because the Pentagon announced the decision six months into a standoff over military members' access to abortions. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the Pentagon launched a policy reimbursing military personnel who must travel to get either an abortion or fertility treatments, and in protest of that policy, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has been refusing to agree to promote senior generals and admirals, leading to those promotions being held up. Republicans are accusing Biden of canceling the move to Tuberville's home state as punishment to him, but Biden says the decision was the best one for military readiness, the Washington Post reports.

Gen. James Dickinson, the four-star general who oversees Space Command, had argued military readiness would be disrupted by a move, and in announcing that HQ would remain in Colorado, a Pentagon rep said the decision would ensure "peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period," as the US aims to keep up with China in that domain, and that it would "enable the command to most effectively plan, execute and integrate military space power into multi-domain global operations." The spokesperson also said the decision is supported by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. (More Space Command stories.)