(COLORADO) — Colorado Attorney General (AG) Phil Weiser has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration over the decision to move the U.S. Space Command Headquarters.
According to AG Phil Weiser, President Trump’s announcement in September to move the U.S. Command from Colorado Springs to Alabama to punish Colorado for its vote-by-mail system is unconstitutional and violates federal law requiring public notices and reports to Congress before moving a major military headquarters location.
In September, President Trump said the decision to move Space Command was partially influenced by mail-in voting.
“The problem with Colorado is that they have a very corrupt voting system,” President Trump said at the time.
“The president could not have been clearer about his motivations for moving Space Command. He said Colorado’s mail-in voting system was a ‘big factor’ in his decision-making. The Constitution does not permit the Executive Branch to punish or retaliate against states for lawfully exercising powers reserved for them, such as the power to regulate elections. If we don’t take a stand now against this unconstitutional and unlawful decision, Colorado and other states that use mail-in voting will face further pressure or punishment unless they give up their constitutional authority,” said AG Weiser.
According to AG Weiser, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that the states alone have the power to regulate elections for president and state and local offices under the Tenth Amendment.
“While the Constitution gives Congress certain powers to regulate the time and manner for electing senators and representatives, it does not provide the president and the Executive Branch with any such authority. The president’s decision to punish Colorado for its mail-in voting system, therefore, violates both federalism and separation-of-powers principles,” said AG Weiser
The lawsuit also states the Supreme Court has long recognized that the Constitution prohibits the use of retaliation, punishment, or other coercive action in response to the exercise of a constitutional right or power.
State Sen. Marc Snyder of El Paso County said: “Trump’s political decision to tear Space Command HQ from Colorado based on his dislike of our state’s voting laws is not only the height of lawlessness, but it throws hundreds of El Paso County residents – dedicated defense employees and their families – into a state of great uncertainty. These families are our neighbors, and Trump’s decision to use them in a game of cynical politics is both callous and wrong. This action brought by Attorney General Weiser does right by those families, and I look forward to the court’s adjudication of this issue.”
AG Weiser is seeking a court order declaring that the president’s decision to move Space Command is unconstitutional and unlawful, and an injunction prohibiting the Trump administration from taking further action to move the facility based on the illegal decision.
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