WASHINGTON — A group of Republican lawmakers representing Colorado spoke to the media Thursday morning about claims from an Alabama lawmaker that a decision to move Space Command is coming soon.
WATCH: Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers says Space Command will be moving its HQ to Alabama
"On our Cyber Focus podcast, @HASCRepublicans Chairman Mike Rogers says the announcement moving U.S. Space Command back to Alabama is expected this month, with construction set to begin immediately," part of a post to social media on Wednesday by the McCray Institute reads.
Republican Representatives Jeff Hurd, Lauren Boebert, Jeff Crank and Gabe Evans took questions from the media about the claim Thursday morning. Rep. Crank pointed to the recent news of the Golden Dome as being another reason for keeping Space Command in Colorado. The Golden Dome is a vision from President Donald Trump to protect the United States from missile attacks.
The lawmakers also pointed to arguments that have been showcased for years, including the estimated cost of moving the headquarters, estimated at "billions" of dollars, according to Rep. Crank.
Rep. Boebert believes President Trump may have changed his mind on Space Command since his first term.
This isn't the first time Rep. Rogers of Alabama claimed a decision would come on Space Command in a given timeline. Prior to President Trump being sworn in for a second term, Rogers announced in November he believed the decision would come in the first week of his second term, it didn't.
WATCH: AL lawmakers expect the president to move Space Command from Colorado Springs
Alabama lawmakers have been pointing to a selection process that found Huntsville would be the preferred permanent location of Space Command. That process was evaluated by the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, which found the process was done legally and was reasonable.
There are about 1,700 personnel who work at Space Command according to the Congressional Research Service. The Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC cited a 2021 report saying Space Command would bring in about $450 million annually to the community, and that didn't include an expected $500 million to $1 billion into military construction. However, construction on new facilities for Space Command in Colorado Springs was put on pause.
Senator John Hickenlooper sent us the following statement about the potential news.
Dr. Tatiana Bailey, the founder of Data-Driven Economic Strategies in Colorado Springs, shared a column for News5 partner The Gazette highlighting defense personnel spending in Colorado, click here to read the column.
Space Command was re-established in 2019 in Colorado Springs, but the permanent location has been a back-and-forth debate.
WATCH: President Trump has nominated Dr. Troy Meink as the next Secretary of the Air Force
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