U.S. Rep Jerry Carl (R-Mobile) is claiming that former President Donald Trump originally wanted to put the new Space Command headquarters in Florida, but was talked out of it by one of his advisors.
Carl discussed the issue Thursday on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program.”
“Trump wanted to put it in Florida,” Carl said. “Most people don’t know that. Then they convinced him that there was no better place than Huntsville, Alabama for it.”
Related: House Armed Services Committee is investigating the decision process.
The congressman said retired Lt. Gen. Joseph Keith Kellogg Jr., who served as Trump’s Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff of the United States National Security Council, was part of the conversations with the president about Space Command.
“[W]ho told me that was General Kellogg, who was the advisor for Trump at the time,” he said. “Trump was talking about Florida, and he actually went and sat down with Trump and said ‘Mr. President, nothing in Florida matches what we need. Everything points to Huntsville, Alabama.’ So there’s no reason why it’s not going to Huntsville, Alabama. It was not a political choice is what I’m getting at. What we’re doing now is all politics.”
Carl is joining his Republican colleagues in pushing back against reports that President Biden is attempting to block the relocation of Space Command to Redstone Arsenal.
“I think Colorado Springs was fifth, we were one very clearly across the board,” he said. “Everything they measured us on, Huntsville is the winner.”
He also accused officials in Colorado Springs of spending money illegally to try and make improvements so Space Command will remain at that location.
“We had a meeting with the Secretary of the Air Force two days ago,” he said. “He pretty much let it slip that General (James) Dickinson out in Colorado has been spending money trying to upgrade the facilities there so the facilities can be moved there. That money has never gone through appropriations. That money has never been signed off on any committees, and, in my view, he illegally spent that money.
“So what they’re saying now is Colorado Springs qualifies so they are wanting to re-evaluate how they picked these facilities.”
Carl concluded that Biden is just playing politics with our national security.
“Alabama’s a red state, Biden doesn’t like it, it’s not going to help Biden here,” he said, “but even his Democrat colleagues like Terri Sewell are stepping up and going ‘No Way! This is not right. It needs to stay in Alabama.’”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
