The Biden administration is reportedly planning to reverse plans to locate U.S. Space Command in Alabama due to the state's laws on abortion.
NBC News reported Monday that two unnamed U.S. officials and one official with the U.S. Department of Defense said Biden has been delaying the decision on Space Command due to Alabama's "restrictive" abortion laws, which went into effect June 24, 2022, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
"The belief is they are delaying any move because of the abortion issue," one U.S. official told NBC, referring to the White House.
"This is all about abortion politics," said another official.
Former President Donald Trump picked the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville as the new permanent home for Space Command. The Arsenal has since repeatedly ranked at the top of the list of potential locations for Space Command over its current location in Colorado.
The Biden Administration has expressed concern over possible operational disruptions that could occur during the move, and it said Alabama's abortion laws are not a factor in its decision, according to NBC. The White House also said it wasn't weighing into its decision U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-Auburn) efforts to stop the U.S. Military's funding of abortions by holding up roughly 234 promotion nominations. However, a U.S. official told NBC that Tuberville's actions weren't "helping" keep Alabama as the choice for Space Command, though Biden may not officially announce the final decision until the issue with Tuberville is resolved.
"They don't want to aggravate Tuberville even more," one official said.
Tuberville has remained a staunch defender of Huntsville as the best option, and he has condemned any suggestion otherwise as purely political.
"This [NBC News] article confirmed what we've known all along — Huntsville is the best place for U.S. Space Command," a spokeswoman for Tuberville said. "Reversing the previous decision to permanently locate SPACECOM to Huntsville would be politics at its worst."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com.
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