Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell lashed out at President Joe Biden on Monday over his decision to keep the United States Space Command in Colorado.
What is the background?
The Pentagon announced on Monday that Biden decided that Colorado Springs will be the permanent headquarters of the U.S. Space Command. The decision reverses a Trump-era decision to move the HQ to Huntsville, Alabama.
According to the Associated Press, Gen. James Dickinson, commander of Space Command, argued moving HQ would impact military readiness. Air Force commanders, however, disagreed with that analysis and thought relocating Space Force HQ to Alabama was the right decision. Subsequent government studies had affirmed the move.
What did Sewell say?
Sewell, a Democrat who represents Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, did not buy the excuse. In a statement, she blasted the Biden administration and argued Biden bowed “to the whims of politics over merit.”
“Huntsville’s merits won this selection process fair and square. In three separate reports, Huntsville reigned victorious, whereas Colorado did not come in second or even third. This reversal is as shameful as it is disappointing,” Sewell said.
“I expected more from the Biden Administration,” she added. “A decision of this magnitude should not be about red states versus blue states, but rather what is best for our national security.”
According to Sewell, the Alabama Congressional Delegation stands united in opposition to this decision. Indeed, House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) was equally outraged and promised an investigation. He said in a statement:
It’s clear that far-left politics, not national security, was the driving force behind this decision. The Biden administration’s shameful delay to finalize the permanent basing decision for U.S. Space Command warranted the opening of a Congressional investigation. I will continue this investigation to see if they intentionally misled the Armed Services Committee on their deliberate taxpayer-funded manipulation of the selection process. I will continue to hold the Biden administration accountable for their egregious political meddling in our national security. This fight is far from over.
What did the WH say?
The Biden administration, however, is denying that politics played a role in the decision.
“The deciding factor for President Biden in deciding to keep Space Command in Colorado Springs was operational readiness, pure and simple,” John Kirby of the National Security Council claimed.
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