The Biden administration may halt plans to move US Space Command’s headquarters from Colorado to Alabama over the latter’s restrictive abortion laws.
Multiple US officials, including at least one in defense, told NBC News that the White House may be laying the groundwork to halt those plans because of “abortion politics.”
WASHINGTON, DC May 9, 2023: US President Joe Biden. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Just days before leaving office and following an intense lobbying battle, then-President Trump announced that the US Space Command would be headquartered in Huntsville, Ala.
The move from its current headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs was expected to take several years and cost more than $1 billion.
A review by Biden Defense Department’s inspector general found the relocation “lawful” and “reasonable.”
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The Biden administration later requested a “review of the review” over concerns that the relocation could mean a protracted delay in settling the Space Command in a new location. The review also came after Alabama implemented a law that outlawed abortion at any stage of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest.
FILE: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey delivers her from her State of the State address, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/Julie Bennett)
In March, the administration signaled it was ready to reverse Trump’s decision and keep the Space Command’s headquarters in Colorado Springs, where it has been for decades.
The White House has not said Alabama’s abortion law was a factor in its ongoing review of the decision to move Space Command’s headquarters.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Space Command and the White House for comment.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
