An NBC news report released Monday claimed that President Joe Biden will intervene to keep the Pentagon from moving Space Command from Colorado to Huntsville. The President’s objections to the state of Alabama are reportedly due to the state’s ban on abortion. Many speculate that the real reason could be political in that Colorado voted for Biden in 2020, while Alabama did not.
Congresswoman Terri Sewell responded to the report on Twitter, “Both a GAO and Inspector General report confirmed that the Air Force used a merit-based process in its decision to locate U.S. Space Command headquarters in Huntsville. This conclusion was made under two separate administrations. Huntsville is without question the best home for SPACECOM.”
“The White House should immediately reconfirm Huntsville as the headquarters of SPACECOM,” the Democratic Congresswoman continued. “To change course would be because of politics and not merit. Surely, the Biden Administration would not allow politics to improperly influence this decision.”
U.S. Senator Katie Britt echoed Sewell’s criticism of the report.
“President Biden’s plans would irresponsibly yank a military decision out of the Air Force’s hands in the name of partisan politics,” Sen. Britt said on Facebook. “Huntsville finished first in both the Air Force’s Evaluation Phase and Selection Phase, leaving no doubt that the Air Force’s decision to choose Redstone as the preferred basing location was correct purely on the merits. That decision should remain in the Air Force’s purview. Instead, President Biden is now trying to hand the Gold Medal to the fifth-place finisher. The President’s blatant prioritization of partisan political considerations at the expense of our national security, military modernization, and force readiness is a disservice and a dishonor to his oath of office as our nation’s Commander-in-Chief. Locating the permanent Space Command Headquarters on Redstone Arsenal undoubtedly remains in the best national security interest of the United States. President Biden should allow the Air Force to proceed with doing its job. Alabama’s world-class aerospace and defense workforce, capabilities, and synergies stand ready to fulfill the mission and strengthen our national security long into the future.”
Congressman Dale Strong said on Twitter, “I’ve seen all the reviews and reports on the basing process – but don’t remember access to late-term abortions being one of the 21 criteria used to evaluate the sites.
President Biden, already the oldest man to ever serve as President of the United States, recently announced his re-election plans. There was very little enthusiasm for the 80-year-old President’s re-election announcement. Nine of the last ten polls on Biden’s job performance show more Americans disapproving of Biden’s performance rather than approving. One recent ABC News/Washington Post poll had President Biden trailing former President Donald Trump by six points in the popular vote.
Building a pathway to electoral college victory for Biden without Colorado, which he won in 2020, could be problematic. However, Alabama has not been carried by a Democratic presidential nominee since Jimmy Carter in 1976. There is no plausible scenario where Biden can win Alabama’s electoral college votes in 18 months. The Democratic Party hasn’t contested the state in years.
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