Colorado Sues to Stop SPACECOM Move

Colorado’s attorney general is suing the Trump administration in an effort to block the President’s decision to relocate U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Ala.

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 29 by Attorney General Phil Weiser, alleges that President Donald Trump’s decision amounts to “retaliation” against Colorado for the state’s stance on mail-in voting in violation of the state’s “exercise of its sovereign authority to regulate elections.”  

The suit also alleges the White House failed to issue the proper congressional notification or to follow standard site vetting procedures before announcing its basing decision. It calls for a stop-work order on all efforts to transition SPACECOM headquarters to Alabama.  

The state names President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, and the Department of the Air Force as plaintiffs.  

An Air Force spokesperson declined comment, stating: “The Air Force does not comment on ongoing litigation.” A U.S. Space Command spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about how a potential injunction, if granted, might impact the transition timeline. 

The lawsuit is the latest in a yearslong saga over which state should host the command, which is charged with operating the Defense Department’s space capabilities.  

When SPACECOM was re-established in 2019, the headquarters was provisionally placed in Colorado Springs. In January 2021,just before Trump’s first term in office wound down, his White House selected Huntsville to be the command’s permanent headquarters. Two years later, following several reviews, President Joe Biden reversed the decision, declaring the command would remain in Colorado. 

This past September, however, Trump again weighed in, announcing that SPACECOM would move to Alabama at an Oval Office meeting, where he was flanked by Republican members of Alabama’s congressional delegation. He said then his decision was influenced by Colorado’s mail-in voting laws. 

“When the state is for mail-in voting, that means they want dishonest elections,” Trump charged. “That played a big factor.” 

In the complaint, Colorado officials allege that “President Trump has unlawfully retaliated against Colorado to punish the State for its exercise of sovereign authority to regulate elections.” This is a Constitutional intrusion on the state’s rights, they say: “The President’s decision and threatened future action undermine and violate the Constitution by singling out Colorado for harmful executive action based on its exercise of sovereign powers.” 

The suit also alleges that the Air Force failed to follow proper notification procedures prior to announcing the relocation. Title 10, Section 483, of US Code requires that Congressional defense committees be notified “at each point in the decision-making process … of the decision-making process to be used or the decision-making process used … to select a military installation to serve as the first permanent location for a new major headquarters, covered military unit, or major weapon system.”

The notice should include analysis of the training capabilities available at each location and describe how the decision would impact local communities. 

The law also requires agency heads to wait at least 14 days after submitting such notice before taking “irrevocable action” to implement the basing decision. 

The complaint doesn’t provide details about how the department violated the process or which actions the state considers irrevocable. It’s not clear what notifications the Air Force or the administration provided.

Space Command is leading the transition process for the headquarters move, which could take up to four years to complete. Prior to the lawsuit’s filing, a command spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine the command was “moving as fast as infrastructure and the mission allows,” and expected to announce some initial transition milestones in mid-to-late November.