President Biden is “putting politics above national security” amid a report that the administration is reversing a decision to move the Space Command headquarters to Alabama because of the state’s abortion ban, he Sen. Tommy Tuberville said Monday.
“Multiple independent, nonpartisan government reviews have found that the Space Command headquarters would be best served in Huntsville,” said Tuberville, who along with the rest of Alabama’s congressional delegation championed the effort to convert the state in the permanent headquarters of the agency.
The administration has “indicated to the Pentagon and lawmakers that they want to reverse the decision” to move the headquarters of the Space Command to Alabama, NBC News reported Monday night.
Alabama’s strict abortion ban played a role in the decision, an unnamed administration official told the outlet. Abortion is illegal today in Alabama unless there is a serious risk to the mother’s health of the fetus. A new law proposed in the state legislature would prosecute abortion as murder.
“They are delaying any movement because of the abortion issue,” referring to the White House and another unnamed US official who said: “This is about abortion policy.”
Tuberville has blocked more than 180 military nominations over Defense Department policies that expand access to abortion. The senator has claimed the policies are illegal.
An official told NBC News that the senator’s decision is not to blame for the administration’s decision on Space Command, though the official said it is “not helping,” referring to Tuberville.
Another official said the Biden administration was delaying the announcement that the Space Command headquarters would remain in Colorado because they “don’t want to further aggravate Tuberville.”
The senator could not immediately be reached for further comment.
