In a devastating blow to Colorado’s economy and national security, President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the relocation of U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama.

This irresponsible decision strips our state of thousands of high-paying jobs and billions in economic activity. Far worse, it puts our country at unnecessary risk at a time when our adversaries — China, Russia, North Korea and more — are racing for military dominance in space and aren’t wasting time and money moving assets and personnel at a hefty price for purely political reasons.

Among other countless disruptions, this move will mean the time intensive process of finding new civilian personnel who have neither the obligation nor will to uproot their lives and move 1,300 miles to swelter in southern heat and humidity.

Trump’s decision was entirely political — rewarding a red state and punishing a blue state. Yet, Colorado helped inspire this unforced error.

Aside from Trump, the fault lies largely with Colorado’s top Democrats — Governor Jared Polis, Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, and Colorado Attorney Gen. Phil Weiser — who have spent the past 10 months gratuitously antagonizing the commander-in-chief rather than engaging in the diplomacy needed to safeguard our interests.

After Trump’s decisive victory in November 2024, Polis wasted no time launching a “Governors Safeguarding Democracy” initiative with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, framing it as a bulwark against Trump’s agenda — no matter what direction it might take.

To maintain a constant drumbeat of defiance for the sake of it, Polis has repeatedly slammed Trump’s tariffs as “reckless” and likened them to the “Death Star.” In July, he accused the Trump administration of creating “chaos” for schools.

Hickenlooper has been equally combative. In February 2025, he warned that Trump’s federal program cuts would “bring pain” to farmers, veterans, and food stamp recipients. By April, he urged the Supreme Court to hold Trump officials in contempt and “lock them up.”

Hickenlooper has decried Trump’s tariffs as “pulverizing small businesses” and a “recipe for recession,” which we haven’t seen. In August, he attacked Trump’s push to end mail-in voting, calling it an assault on democracy. In announcing the Space Command move, Trump said Colorado’s all mail-in voting system was a major reason he’s moving the command.

In March 2025, Bennet sounded the alarm on Trump’s 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico, warning of economic damage to Colorado. By June, he pushed amendments to combat “Trump family corruption.” At town halls, he’s rallied against Trump policies, insisting Democrats must “combat” them relentlessly — no matter what they are.

Weiser, as of Tuesday, had embroiled Colorado in a whopping 35 mostly frivolous lawsuits against Trump. Now, he speaks of a frivolous suit to stop the relocation of Space Command — as if the Supreme Court might suddenly appoint itself the commander-in-chief.

State Democratic leaders have been downright childish in their obstruction of Trump’s immigration enforcement. Colorado faces an illegal immigration crisis, with sanctuary policies exacerbating costs and crime. Yet Polis signed laws expanding immigrant protections. Statehouse Democrats passed bills to shield immigrants from deportations, directly countering Trump’s efforts to secure the border and reduce Colorado’s insane rate of fentanyl deaths.

We get it: Colorado Democrats despise Trump, personally. But those elected and sworn to protect Colorado owe us better than blind, counterproductive hatred. Military installations like Space Command demand respect for the presidency and strategic outreach, not endless attacks.

These leaders’ only governing doctrine — “just hate Trump” and win elections — has cost us dearly: 5,000-10,000 jobs gone, $1 billion annually in economic output evaporated, and our state’s leadership in space operations undermined.

Quite simply, Colorado’s pro-crime, hateful, radical-left leadership gave Trump no reason to trust us with Space Command and led to damning consequences. Colorado deserves leaders who prioritize outcomes for our state and country over partisan grudges with a man who holds all the cards.