Colorado officials filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming the relocation of U.S. Space Command to Alabama was illegally motivated by President Donald Trump’s desire to punish the state “for allowing eligible voters to vote by mail.”
“President Trump has unlawfully retaliated against Colorado to punish the State for its exercise of sovereign authority to regulate elections,” Colorado officials wrote in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional, citing that “the Supreme Court has long recognized that the Constitution prohibits the use of retaliation, punishment, or other coercive action in response to the exercise of constitutional right or power.”
The complaint cites Trump’s remarks at a September press conference announcing the relocation, during which he said Colorado’s mail-in voting “played a big factor” in moving the headquarters to Huntsville, Ala.
“The problem with Colorado is that they have a very corrupt voting system,” Trump said at the time. He also claimed that earlier plans to relocate the headquarters had been “wrongfully obstructed” by the Biden administration.
Trump announced in September that U.S. Space Command – one of the Pentagon’s 11 unified combatant commands – will relocate from Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado to Redstone Arsenal, an Army installation in Huntsville, Ala.
U.S. Space Command was originally established in 1985, dissolved in 2002, and reestablished in 2019 during Trump’s first term. The command is responsible for defending U.S. assets in space and responding to threats against the homeland.
Trump said the move would bring more than 30,000 jobs to Alabama and attract “hundreds of billions of dollars” in investments. He also said Space Command will play a central role in developing the Golden Dome for America.
The decision marks the latest turn in a years-long debate over the future of Space Command. In January 2021, then–Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall identified Redstone Arsenal as the preferred headquarters site, pending environmental review. That review, completed in 2022, reaffirmed Huntsville as the top choice, but a final decision was delayed.
In July 2023, under President Joe Biden, the Air Force announced Space Command would remain in Colorado, citing potential impacts to combat readiness. Senior military leaders warned that relocating the command could cause operational disruptions. However, a Pentagon Inspector General report found the move to Alabama would save an estimated $426 million through lower personnel and construction costs.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement that his state would vigorously defend the relocation decision in court, calling Colorado’s lawsuit “a partisan attempt to overturn a lawful, evidence-based decision repeatedly validated by military experts, independent reviews, and congressional oversight.”
Colorado’s bipartisan congressional delegation condemned the decision, calling it “damaging to national security,” in a joint statement.
“Moving Space Command sets our space defense apparatus back years, wastes billions of taxpayer dollars, and hands the advantage to the converging threats of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea,” the delegation said. Lawmakers also warned that civilian workers critical to the command’s operations may be unwilling or unable to relocate, potentially disrupting its mission.