By Joey Roulette
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Colorado's attorney general sued President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday for moving U.S. Space Command's headquarters to Alabama, calling the decision
unconstitutional retaliation for the Democratic state's vote-by-mail practices.
The lawsuit filed by Attorney General Phil Weiser in Colorado's federal court district escalated a long-running dispute that culminated in Trump's announcement last month that Space Command's headquarters in Colorado Springs will move to Huntsville, Alabama.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the move and a judge's order declaring the president's decision unconstitutional.
"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," Weiser said, referring to Trump's reasoning for the move.
At a September White House event announcing the headquarters decision, Trump said: "The problem I have with Colorado, one of the big problems, they do mail-in voting... So that played a big factor also."
Weiser said the state felt compelled to challenge the move out of concern that Colorado and other states with mail-in voting would face "further pressure or punishment unless they give up their constitutional authority."
Trump initiated Space Command during his first term along with the U.S. Space Force. The command's temporary base in Colorado Springs shared space with the Air Force, Space Force and other entities.
The president for years faced pressure from Alabama Republicans to relocate the command's headquarters to Huntsville, which hosts NASA facilities and military installations involved in missile development.
Weiser's office is leading or participating in many other lawsuits challenging the Trump administration. In two cases, Colorado and other states have sued the administration over its move to end billions of dollars in funding for electric-vehicle infrastructure and its effort to suspend leasing and permitting of new wind projects.
(Reporting by Joey Roulette; additional reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
