MONTGOMERY — Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth said on Wednesday he was hopeful the incoming Trump administration would bring Space Command headquarters back to Huntsville.
In January 2021, the Secretary of the Air Force identified the Redstone Arsenal site in Huntsville as the top choice for the Space Command headquarters. The recommendation for the site was then affirmed by the Inspector General's Office and the Government Accountability Office, both of which found that the Air Force had conducted an accurate analysis and Huntsville was the superior location.
Yet on July 31, 2023, President Joe Biden reversed the decision to locate Space Command headquarters in Huntsville and instead selected a location in Colorado.
Ainsworth told reporters at a press conference announcing the new Alabama Aerospace and Defense Council (AADC) on Wednesday he hoped incoming President Donald Trump would bring Space Command to Huntsville.
The AADC will advocate for policies that encourage the growth of Alabama's already significant aerospace and defense industry footprint and expand its job creation and economic impact even further.
"This industry is going to continue to grow. Alabama in my opinion is the number one state in the country for aerospace and defense and I think this is so important. Very excited, think it's going to be a game changer," Ainsworth said. "One of the first things I'm going to encourage this council to do is push hard to get Space Command back to Alabama. I think that was one of the worst things I saw in politics. You had three different independent reports that listed Alabama first. We should have got it, (but) because of politics I think it went to another state. I'm hopeful with a new administration that it will come back to Alabama. I certainly want to make sure this council is helping push to get Space Command back to its rightful place which is Alabama."
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