Under Trump, Huntsville might finally gain Space Command. It could also lose much more

Space Command has turned into a political game of keep-away. But in the game of merit, Huntsville already won.

In 2019, Huntsville came ahead in a competition held by the Pentagon to pick the permanent headquarters for Space Command, an organization meant to coordinate across branches for the military’s space operations.

Colorado Springs was the temporary location and hoped to become the permanent one. Instead, the U.S. Air Force chose Huntsville based on its “large, qualified workforce, quality schools, superior infrastructure capacity, and low initial and recurring costs.”

In Trump fashion, he took sole credit for the move, which Colorado leaders called a “political slight.” A report by the Department of Defense, however, found little issue with how Huntsville was selected. Biden halted the move anyway in 2023, reportedly overruling the advice of his Air Force secretary.

“It became a very political decision at that moment,” said Mike Ward, Senior Vice President of government and public affairs at the Huntsville Madison County Chamber.

After the latest presidential election, Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers said he believed Trump would restart Space Command’s move to Huntsville. Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville predicted the same after the inauguration, and introduced legislation to make it happen.

“President Trump has every right to review that process now and determine where that command should be located,” Ward said.

Huntsville has, historically, been built up with friends in high places, and with higher government clearance.

Wernher von Braun brought his fellow rocket scientists to the city in the 1950s and, eventually, the vast federal resources needed to get a man on the moon. Former Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby fought for the continued expansion of Redstone. These investments grew the infrastructure and workforce that make it the natural, and often best, choice for any new space and defense project public or private.

Huntsville hopes Trump will be its latest champion. Afterall, Madison County — where Huntsville is located — has voted to elect Trump to the White House three times. But Trump hasn’t taken any action yet, and other states see this as an open season invitation.

Ohio made the push for the headquarters earlier this month. In January, a Florida newspaper made the case for the Sunshine State, a frequent NASA launch site. Colorado has also pledged not to give up Space Command without a fight.

So far, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle has been playing it cool, suggesting Space Command has more to gain from Huntsville than the other way around, with the city’s deep knowledge base of both defense and space workers. And while the 1,600 workers at the headquarters would be a nice boost for the city, it would be small compared to the tens of thousands of federal employees already at Redstone Arsenal and the city’s continually growing private sector.

“Many days I have two ribbon cuttings in a day,” Battle said. “We’re going to continue to grow with or without space command. But obviously we have an interest in it.”

The week of Trump’s inauguration, the white board in Battle’s office was covered in multicolored notes outlining the upcoming opportunities and headwinds for his city. In the challenges for the future column, written in red at the bottom right, was a note about the then-unknown changes to federal government spending.

Since that first week, Battle has watched as Trump’s hacksaw through the federal government inches closer to the Rocket City. One hundred miles south, Birmingham felt the blade as the administration attempted to cut billions in National Institutes of Health funding for biomedical research, which would have included tens of millions for the University of Alabama at Birmingham. A federal judge paused the measure indefinitely until further review. Later in the month, planned cuts to NASA’s workforce were averted at the last moment.

But Huntsville may no longer be spared with the Pentagon planning to cut 5-8% of its civilian workforce.

Battle said he wouldn’t describe the situation as dire. With unemployment in the city at just 2%, he believes the city could help federal workers who are cut shift into the growing private sector. The Rocket City has the second largest research park in the United States, including companies like Jeff Bezos’ space venture Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin.

Federal workers in Huntsville are still concerned. While the city’s weathered federal cuts before, Battle said he’s seen nothing like the speed of which the Trump administration is acting with. He’s now talking about Space Command not as a boost to the region, but as a way of making up for those potential losses.

“Space Command could be part of a plan B,” Battle said.

Another way to balance those cuts could come from Huntsville’s massive FBI presence at Redstone.

More than 2,000 FBI employees already work at Redstone Arsenal with the expectation of doubling that after finishing building its two campuses. That growth can again be linked back to former Sen. Shelby.

Filing out those campuses could happen sooner than expected. Trump’s newly-confirmed FBI director Kash Patel has talked about moving the FBI away from Washington. If the intention is to get those employees out of the Beltway, then Huntsville makes a natural choice — the bureau’s operations at Redstone have often been called the agency’s unofficial second headquarters.

“If there’s a community that can absorb that and take on the opportunity it would be North Alabama and they would welcome it with welcome arms,” said Robert Hamilton, vice president at local business Ignite and former Senior Executive at FBI Redstone Operations.

Patel has reportedly already ordered 500 FBI employees from Washington D.C. to Redstone. The FBI would not confirm this, saying it doesn’t comment on personnel matters.

Hamilton was optimistic that Huntsville’s many advantages — like its low cost of living and excellent schools — will keep the city’s future bright. And that Trump could still emerge as the city’s latest Republican champion. When it comes to future defense projects Trump is pushing, like building an iron dome missile defense system for the U.S., the Rocket City would be the natural choice.

“This is a red state and Trump is a red guy,” Hamilton said. “It would not surprise me at the least if there’s a big win on the horizon for North Alabama.”

This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.