What began as the announcement of Alabama receiving a $1.4 billion investment quickly turned into the subject of rage from Twitter users – including the President.
Referencing Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s nay-vote against a “bloated” half-trillion-dollar spending package in 2021, Biden tweeted Coach, saying he’ll see him at the “groundbreaking.”
See you at the groundbreaking. https://t.co/1kJZ2h3JZW
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 28, 2023
Biden didn’t appear ready for what followed.
The groundbreaking for Space Command in Huntsville? https://t.co/EWQg1QIuVK
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) June 28, 2023
A reported effort by the White House to undo U.S. Space Command’s final basing location in Alabama was exposed last month.
Reported by NBC News at the time, “Colorado Springs was among the locations considered for a permanent Spacecom headquarters. But U.S. officials said Colorado did not come close to Alabama as a preferred location when the military conducted its search.”
RELATED: GAO: Alabama 1st, Colorado 5th for Space Command HQ
The decision ultimately rests in the hands of U.S. Air Force Secretary Mark Kendall, who has prolonged the announcement since President Biden took office in 2021, despite all government reports indicating Redstone Arsenal as the “preferred choice.”
The president’s Twitter account has not yet responded to Tuberville’s question. Given the nature of a controversy the administration wants to keep quiet – he’s not likely to.
A coalition of lawmakers recently included language in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) markup that would block further capital funding to the temporary Colorado Springs headquarters until a decision is announced or a report is released.
RELATED: Alabama military installations advance in funding process
In terms of Biden and other Democratic leaders’ suggestion that Tuberville is claiming a victory he wasn’t a part of – the 2021 infrastructure bill was highly controversial – resulting in opposition by 30 Senate Republicans.
At that time, The New York Times reported that GOP leaders argued “that it will only pave the way for Democrats to push through their far larger climate change and social policy bill.”
Among those who also voted against the infrastructure bill were Sens. Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, Marsha Blackburn, and Alabama’s senior statesman, Sen. Richard Shelby.
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Last month, during his first hearing as a ranking member of the U.S. Agriculture (AG) Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, Tuberville also called broadband “vital.”
A Tuberville spokesman said Wednesday the senator “voted against the infrastructure bill because it wasted Alabamians’ tax dollars. It spent too much to get too little in return for Alabama.” However, “now that it is law of the land, the people of Alabama deserve their fair share. Coach is proud to advocate for this funding to go to Alabama.”
Grayson Everett is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270
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