Colorado says relocation of Space Command to Alabama is 'punishment' for mail-in voting

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DENVER (AP) — Colorado officials filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming the relocation of U.S. Space Command to Alabama was illegally motivated by President Donald Trump's desire to punish Colorado for its mail-in voting system.

The litigation announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional.

Trump chose Huntsville, Alabama, to house Space Command during the closing days of his first term. But in 2023, then-President Joe Biden announced the command would be permanently located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which had been serving as its temporary headquarters.

Trump in September said Colorado's mail-in voting system “played a big factor” in moving the headquarters to Alabama.

“The problem with Colorado is that they have a very corrupt voting system,” Trump said. He said earlier plans to relocate the headquarters to Huntsville were “wrongfully obstructed” by the Biden administration.

The decision capped a four-year tug of war between the two states and opposing administrations. It infuriated both Democratic and Republican officials in Colorado, which has a booming aerospace industry.

“President Trump has unlawfully retaliated against Colorado to punish the state for its exercise of sovereign authority to regulate elections,” Colorado officials wrote in Wednesday's lawsuit. “The Supreme Court has long recognized that the Constitution prohibits the use of retaliation, punishment, or other coercive action in response to the exercise of constitutional right or power.”

Space Command’s functions include enabling satellite-based navigation and troop communication and providing warning of missile launches.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Wednesday that the Huntsville location "puts them in the best situation to improve readiness and protect our national interests while providing the necessary infrastructure capacity, community support, cost effectiveness, and more.”

She did not directly respond to the lawsuit's claim that the relocation was punishment for Colorado's mail-in voting system, which experts have said is legal and secure.

Huntsville — nicknamed Rocket City because of its role building the first rockets for the U.S. space program — is home to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command.

Alabama officials have said about 1,400 Space Command jobs would transition to Redstone Arsenal over the next five years.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement Wednesday that his state would vigorously defend the relocation decision in court. He called Colorado's lawsuit “a partisan attempt to overturn a lawful, evidence-based decision repeatedly validated by military experts, independent reviews, and congressional oversight.”

A review by the Defense Department inspector general was inconclusive and could not determine why Colorado was chosen over Alabama. Trump, a Republican who enjoys deep support in Alabama, had long been expected to move Space Command back to the state.