{"id":16478,"date":"2025-09-20T00:47:43","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T06:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorados-republican-u-s-representatives-decline-to-fight-trump-on-space-command-even-as-they-risk-voter-fallout\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:58:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:58:33","slug":"colorados-republican-u-s-representatives-decline-to-fight-trump-on-space-command-even-as-they-ris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorados-republican-u-s-representatives-decline-to-fight-trump-on-space-command-even-as-they-ris\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado\u2019s Republican U.S. representatives decline to fight Trump on Space Command, even as they risk voter fallout"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Downtown
Downtown buildings on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo\/Brittany Peterson)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

When U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colorado Springs, took office in January, he promised to battle the Trump administration if it decided to move the headquarters of U.S. Space Command to Alabama from his 5th Congressional District.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fight is going to be on if that happens,\u201d he told KOAA-TV as he began his first term in Congress.<\/p>\n

But after President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that the relocation was happening \u2013 saying a big factor was Colorado\u2019s broad use of mail ballots \u2013 Crank appears to be choosing flight over fight. That\u2019s in contrast to Democrats, like Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is planning a lawsuit to stop the move.<\/p>\n

Crank\u2019s reaction underscores the highly charged political dynamics at play. Colorado Republicans may be unhappy about the relocation of Space Command and worried about how it will be viewed by voters, but they\u2019re unwilling to cross Trump in making their displeasure known.<\/p>\n

If they\u2019re too critical of Trump, Colorado\u2019s Republican members of Congress risk political fallout \u2013 lost endorsements, primary challenges, fewer campaign donations \u2013 but they also could put future federal projects in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any question that our Republican legislators are in a tough spot,\u201d said John Suthers, a Republican and the former mayor of Colorado Springs. \u201cThey disagree with the decision. It\u2019s a wholly political decision. But for purposes of their own political careers, they have to be guarded in what they say in terms of the Trump administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suthers said Colorado\u2019s prospects for future space growth are also part of the calculus.<\/p>\n

\u201cColorado Springs is going to remain an epicenter of military and, hopefully, civilian space,\u201d said Suthers, who was the city\u2019s mayor from June 2015 to June 2023 and now works at the law and lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.<\/p>\n

The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce estimates that Space Command \u2013 which is responsible for operating satellites, missile-warning systems and global communications \u2013 is tied to nearly 1,400 jobs in Colorado and has an annual economic impact of $1 billion. The Colorado Springs Chamber says the aerospace and defense industries account for at least 40% of the economy in Colorado Springs, employing more than 110,000 people.<\/p>\n

The command was temporarily headquartered in Colorado Springs. At the end of Trump\u2019s first term, he announced he was moving the headquarters to Alabama. President Joe Biden reversed that decision, opting to keep the command in Colorado. And then Trump reversed Biden at the beginning of September.<\/p>\n

Crank posted on social media that he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d by the president\u2019s decision, and that he\u2019s \u201cconcerned about how it will affect the hard-working men and women who support our military\u2019s operational capability.\u201d But he tried to present a silver lining amid his opposition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile such a move will take years to implement, I am confident that this is not an across-the-board move and that important assets and jobs related to the Space Command mission will remain in El Paso County,\u201d he posted. \u201cI have also been told that Space Force missions will continue to expand in our community, and our military installations will play an integral part in President Trump\u2019s Golden Dome Initiative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crank, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he thinks \u201cwhen the dust settles, our community will have more jobs and more Department of Defense missions than today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crank and the three other members of Colorado\u2019s Republican congressional delegation issued a statement about a week after the relocation decision was made, doubling down on their spin. The statement said the move was \u201cnow likely (to) only impact approximately 1,000 positions in total,\u201d down from 1,700.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis marks a significant improvement,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

A spokeswoman for Crank didn\u2019t respond to requests for an interview in the days after the relocation was announced. On Monday, she said he wasn\u2019t available to talk to The Colorado Sun this week.<\/p>\n

The Sun couldn\u2019t find any instance of Crank speaking to the media about the relocation. (After publication, the congressman\u2019s spokeswoman pointed to two interviews Crank did on Space Command \u2013 one with a conservative talk radio station and another with The Gazette<\/em> in which he repeated his written statements.)<\/p>\n

\"Colorado
Colorado congressional candidate Jeff Crank speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Crank did, however, write an opinion piece for The Gazette<\/em> in which he reiterated his statements on social media. (It was basically just a longer version of his statement on X.)<\/p>\n

The opinion piece did not address Trump\u2019s claims about mail ballots in Colorado or the president\u2019s assertion that he was awarding Space Command to Alabama because its representatives \u201cfought harder for it than anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump recently endorsed Crank\u2019s 2026 reelection bid.<\/p>\n

Trump endorsed Crank during his first congressional bid, in 2024, too. But that only happened after the president first backed Crank\u2019s primary opponent, then-Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams. (Williams supported Trump\u2019s efforts to relocate Space Command.)<\/p>\n

Colorado Republicans knew the Space Command relocation would be a political albatross. And they tried to make that argument to the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

GOP leaders warned the White House that there was more to gain by keeping the command in Colorado, where Republican elected officials are basically an endangered species, than by moving it to Alabama, where the party enjoys broad political control.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s decision to relocate Space Command is poised to become a key line of attack for Democrat Jessica Killin as she seeks to unseat Crank next year.<\/p>\n

Killin, an Army veteran and former chief of staff to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, said the relocation proves \u201chow ineffective (Crank) has been as a member of Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that all of this crazy political kowtowing that he was doing was to hopefully keep Space Command here,\u201d Killin told The Sun in an interview. \u201cBut I find it amazing that he couldn\u2019t even do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said that Crank\u2019s attempts to find good in the Space Command move are akin to putting lipstick on a pig.<\/p>\n

\u201cStill a pig,\u201d she said. \u201cStill a bummer. It still sucks. He knows. He knows that he failed. This is him making excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n

If she\u2019s elected to Congress, Killin said her first order of business would be fighting to keep Space Command in Colorado Springs.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Democratic state Rep. Manny Rutinel, D-Commerce City, used the relocation to attack Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans of Fort Lupton. Rutinel is running to unseat Evans next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump just sacrificed Colorado\u2019s Space Command HQ to play politics, and Gabe Evans has done almost nothing to stop him,\u201d Rutinel said in a written statement. \u201cGabe Evans\u2019 lack of action shows he is unwilling to stand up for our state and the men and women who depend on these jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the 4th Congressional District, Democrat Trisha Calvarese sent out a fundraising email with the headline \u201cBoebert cost Colorado Space Command.\u201d Calvarese alleged that U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Windsor, was guilty of \u201csabotage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boebert, in an interview with Colorado Public Radio, said \u201cit seems\u201d the relocation is a done deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not losing our defense and aerospace industries. I believe that there\u2019s still many more opportunities for that, and we will continue to fight for more missions,\u201d she told CPR.<\/p>\n

But Suthers is more hopeful. He pointed out that the move will take time and Trump will be out of office come early 2029. A midterm election is also coming up next year that could swing control of Congress.<\/p>\n

Suthers said he found trying to influence Trump on Space Command was always best done behind the scenes. And he thinks the Colorado Republicans in Congress may have some tricks up their sleeve to quietly throw a wrench in the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the words of the great philosopher Yogi Berra,\u201d Suthers said of the Yankees catcher, \u201cit ain\u2019t over till it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

cross Trump, Colorado\u2019s Republican members of Congress risk political consequences \u2013 lost endorsements, primary challengers, fewer campaign donations \u2013 but they also could put future federal projects in jeopardy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16478"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20225,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16478\/revisions\/20225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16478"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}