WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Tuesday that US Space Command is relocating to Alabama after former President Joe Biden canceled plans to build Space Force’s headquarters in the Southern state.

“I am thrilled to report that the US Space Command headquarters will move to the beautiful locale of a place called Huntsville, Alabama — forever to be known from this point forward as Rocket City,” Trump said in the Oval Office, referring to a nickname already used by the city — the home of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

President Trump is expected to announce US Space Command is relocating to Alabama after President Joe Biden canceled plans to build the military branch’s headquarters in the Southern state. Space Operations Command

“This decision will help America defend and dominate the high frontier, as they call it,” Trump said, confirming Space Command’s move from Colorado Springs, Colo.

“We initially selected Huntsville for the SPACECOM headquarters, yet those plans were wrongfully obstructed by the Biden administration, and as you know, they moved them to a different locale and today, we’re moving forward with what we want to do,” Trump said.

The new SPACECOM HQ will also help develop America’s “Golden Dome” integrated missile defense program, the president announced. 

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), also present in the Oval Office, asserted that the Alabama location would save taxpayers $480 million.

But Trump identified other reasons for the move.

Chief Master Sgt. Roger Towberman (R), Space Force and Command Senior Enlisted Leader, and CMSgt Roger Towberman (L), with Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, present US President Donald Trump with the official flag of the United States Space Force in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 15, 2020. Getty Images

“The problem I have with Colorado — one of the big problems — they do mail-in voting. They went to all mail-in voting, so they have automatically crooked elections,” the president said during his initial announcement.

Trump then revisited the matter when asked by a reporter if he was concerned about some Space Force workers not wanting to move.

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“The problem with Colorado is they have a very corrupt voting system,” Trump replied. “If you have mail-in voting, you will have corrupt elections.”

Last week, Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey teased the move was coming.

“Space Command coming to Huntsville? Count on it,” Ivey posted to X Aug. 28. “Huntsville was already chosen once before as the home for U.S. Space Command — and for good reason. I remain confident that Alabama is the right place for this mission to take root and thrive.”

Trump had ordered the Space Force headquarters be moved to Huntsville in the final months of his first term in office — only for Biden to overturn the decision.

Republicans accused Biden of canceling the move for political reasons, as his administration aimed to avoid building new military facilities in states with abortion restrictions.

The GOP also alleged it was in retaliation for Tuberville’s unilateral hold on military promotions in protest of a Pentagon policy covering troops’ travel expenses to receive reproductive healthcare — such as in-vitro fertilization and abortions — during the Biden administration.

“I want you to know that I disagree with the way Sen. Tuberville did things,” Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) told Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall about the move during a 2023 hearing. “But to me, my concern is, it looks like it’s payback from the president of the United States – and payback is a very dangerous game.”

Space Force was converted into a full military branch in 2019, during Trump’s first term. AP

Huntsville was pitched as the new Space Command headquarters due to its history as a hub for rocket and missile development after World War II, which led to its close association with the US space program.

Space Command had been based in Colorado Springs since its creation in 1985. Trump ordered the creation of the Space Force as a full-scale military branch in December 2019.

Biden had argued that there was no need to move the command after the then-head of Space Command, Army Gen. James Dickinson — a Colorado native — reportedly convinced the 46th president not to move the base, arguing it would “jeopardize military readiness.”

That assessment contradicted the Air Force’s previous recommendation of relocating Space Force headquarters to Huntsville after studying the issue at length.