This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is suing the Trump administration over its decision to move Space Command Headquarters from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama.
“This decision was not based on any formal criteria. It didn't follow the statutorily required evaluation process, didn't have any studies, reviews, or notice. It didn't offer validation or justification,” said Weiser at a press conference Wednesday announcing the legal challenge. “Instead, President Trump stated that Colorado's mail-in voting system played a major part for his decision or as he put it, ‘a big factor.’”
During the early September press conference announcing the move, Trump said, “The problem I have with Colorado, one of the big problems, they do mail-in voting … so they have automatically crooked elections.”
Colorado lawmakers had argued that moving the command would disrupt readiness and operational capability and hand “the advantage to the converging threats of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.”
In a filing with the federal district court in Denver, Weiser argues that Trump’s motivations make the move unconstitutional. “The Constitution does not permit the Executive to punish or retaliate against States for lawfully exercising sovereign powers reserved for the States.”
In this case, that power is states’ constitutional authority to manage and regulate their elections.
CPR News reached out to the White House for comment and is awaiting a response. Weiser did telegraph his legal plans, saying shortly after the decision in September that he would sue to stop it.
Weiser also argued that Trump is violating the separation of powers, saying that the administration didn’t follow procedures for relocation of a headquarters, such as notice to the Congressional Armed Services committees. “The President is taking power that the President doesn't have, but Congress does.”
The Attorney General acknowledged that Trump, as Commander in Chief, has authority over the military and military bases, “but that authority has to be exercised under the rule of law and reasonably. It is not okay for the President to use that authority in an abusive way.”
In early September, Colorado’s entire congressional delegation decried the move to Alabama. “We are united in fighting to reverse the decisions,” they wrote in a joint statement.
But days later, the state’s Republican members issued another statement, saying the impact of the move would not be as bad as feared. “The Colorado Republican delegation remains committed to ensuring that we are working with the Administration to minimize the impacts of this move and to continue to increase the space economy in Colorado,” they wrote, seemingly waving the white flag.
Sen. Michael Bennet — who is on course to face Weiser in the Democratic primary for governor next year — issued a statement Wednesday celebrating the lawsuit. “I’m glad to see the Attorney General’s Office join this fight, and I look forward to working together to keep Space Command here in Colorado.”
Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, who sits on the House Armed Services committee, said he supports any effort to keep the command in Colorado Springs. “Moving Space Command jeopardizes our national security, wastes taxpayer dollars, and eliminates Colorado jobs. I continue fighting with Colorado’s congressional delegation to keep Space Command here and reverse President Trump’s politically-motivated and terrible decision,” he said in a statement.
CPR News reached out to Republican Rep. Jeff Crank, who also sits on Armed Services, for comment, but did not receive a reply.
This is the 41st lawsuit the state has filed against the Trump Administration.
The fight over where to headquarter Space Command has become a years-long battle between Colorado, which had historically been home of the command, and Alabama, a state that has long supported Trump and which consistently made the military’s list of finalists for the headquarters.
Colorado was named the provisional headquarters of the command when Trump reconstituted it in 2019. But in the waning days of his first administration, the president decided to name Alabama as the preferred permanent location for the command, over the recommendations of military leadership.
Former President Joe Biden reversed the decision in July 2023 and named Colorado as the headquarters, citing how a move would impact military readiness.
The reconstituted command reached full operational capability at its home in Colorado in December 2023, earlier than expected.
