Polis fights to stop Trump’s last second Space Command relocation, keep BLM

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Governor Jared Polis, along with Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, and a group of bipartisan state legislators wrote a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, urging Secretary Austin to pause the U.S. Space Command’s move from Colorado Springs, Colo. to Huntsville, Ala.
Legislators signing the letter include Sens. Bob Gardner, Jeff Bridges, Dennis Hisey, Pete Lee, Larry Liston, Paul Lundeen; and Reps. Kim Ransom, Donald Valdez, Mary Bradfield, Terri Carver, Tony Exum, Tim Geitner, Andres Pico, Shane Sandridge, and Marc Snyder.
“We respectfully request that you pause the move of USSPACECOM so that you may conduct a thorough review of the previous administration’s last-minute decision to move USSPACECOM from Peterson Air Force Base (AFB) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. Without a review, this hasty decision will undermine our country’s ability to respond to national security threats in space. We have concerns about the transparency, impartiality, and bias of the process that the previous administration used when coming to a final decision that should be addressed prior to any final decision on permanent basing,” the state leaders wrote.
“There is significant risk that this hastily made and nontransparent decision will be disruptive to the service members and civilians who are conducting the current mission. Colorado is home to unique military and intelligence space assets and is currently the nexus of military and intelligence space operations. Experienced personnel with appropriate skills and expertise and proper resourcing are successfully conducting their mission here in Colorado Springs. Furthermore, Colorado Springs, and Colorado’s existing way of life and workforce will both attract and retain workforces, while our local institutions of higher education will train the space workforce of tomorrow. We must remember that when the U.S. Government chose to relocate the Missile Defense Agency to Huntsville, 80% of its civilian workforce opted not to relocate. This nation cannot afford such disruption to the mission in the face of current threats,” the letter continues. The letter comes after the former Trump administration made a decision to move the U.S. Space Command’s headquarters from Colorado Springs to another state.
Space Command wasn’t the only issue of concern, as Governor Jared Polis sent a letter to President Biden about the Bureau of Land Management’s current headquarters in Colorado. “While the initial implementation was flawed, now that this office and these individuals and families are settled here, they are an invaluable part of their respective communities and it would be highly disruptive to undo this effort, as well as a waste of the public resources invested to date,” Governor Polis wrote to President Biden.
“For these reasons and more I remain extremely supportive of the Bureau of Land Management keeping and expanding their national headquarters in our great state. Ensuring that more of our Bureau of Land Management employees are located in and around land under their stewardship is already helping to make the agency a stronger intergenerational steward of our amazing public lands,” wrote Governor Polis. Photo by U.S. Secretary of Defense
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