GAO to probe choice of Alabama as Space Command's headquarters

March 22 (UPI) -- The Government Accountability Office will open a review of the selection of Huntsville, Ala., as the permanent headquarters of the U.S. Space Command.

The GAO informed Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., of the decision, his office said on Friday.

On Feb. 1, Lamborn was among several bipartisan Colorado legislators who requested an investigation of the decision, announced in the last week of former President Donald Trump's administration, suggesting the process of choosing a location was flawed.

The Space Command is provisionally headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"I am very pleased that the Government Accountability Office is conducting an investigation of the methodology behind the headquarters selection process for U.S. Space Command," Lamborn said in a statement.

"I believe the process the Department of the Air Force used was fundamentally flawed. It is crucial we thoroughly review their entire process to ensure that the decision was both sound and rooted in our national security interests," Lamborn said.

Lamborn has suggested that the decision to locate the headquarters at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville was politically motivated, but in his Feb. 1 letter to the GAO, he asked the agency to evaluate the methodology involved in the decision.

Redstone Arsenal was one of six proposed sites for the permanent headquarters, the U.S. Space Force announced in November, as were Colorado's Peterson Air Force Base; Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.; Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.; Joint Base San Antonio, Texas; and Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

The Space Command said on Feb. 19 that the Defense Department's inspector general will review the site selection process.

Lawmakers allege that the Air Force intended to propose to leave the headquarters in Colorado Springs, adding that former Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett was told by the Trump administration to recommend that it be relocated to Alabama as a gift to the former president's political allies.

Barrett announced the decision Jan. 13, one week before leaving the office.