{"id":15277,"date":"2018-06-18T17:20:22","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T17:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/18\/trump-orders-creation-of-independent-space-force\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:29:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:29:20","slug":"trump-orders-creation-of-independent-space-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2018\/06\/18\/trump-orders-creation-of-independent-space-force\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump orders creation of independent space force \u2014 but Congress will still have its say"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The President on Monday announced the creation of a new, sixth branch of the military, the Space Force.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 President Donald Trump on Monday appeared to sign an executive order directing the Pentagon to create a new \u201dSpace Force,\u201d a move that could radically transform<\/a> the U.S. military by pulling space functions variously owned by the Air Force, Navy and other military branches<\/a> into a single independent service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while the president\u2019s support for a new military branch is notable, experts — and a powerful member of Congress — believe Trump still needs the support of Congress to make a space force happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the armed forces,\u201d Trump said during a meeting of the National Space Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a big statement. We are going to have the Air Force and we are going to have the Space Force. Separate but equal. It is going to be something. So important,\u201d Trump added. \u201cGeneral Dunford, if you would carry that assignment out, I would be very greatly honored.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dunford responded in the affirmative, telling Trump, \u201cWe got you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a White House pool report, the president signed the executive order establishing the Space Force at about 12:36 p.m. EST.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a readout issued from the White House later that day of the executive order contained no language related to the creation of a new military branch, leaving open the question of whether Trump has actually issued formal guidance to the military. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force referred all questions to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which did not respond immediately to requests for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a defense official, speaking on background, said \u201cThe Joint Staff will work closely with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, other DoD stakeholders and the Congress to implement the President’s guidance.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s support for creating a separate branch for space is a break from his own adminsitration\u2019s stance last year, as well as that of Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt a time when we are trying to integrate the Department\u2019s joint warfighting functions, I do not wish to add a separate service that would likely present a narrower and even parochial approach to space operations vice an integrated one we\u2019re constructing under our current approach,\u201d Mattis wrote in a 2017 letter to members of Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in recent months, Trump has signaled he was intrigued by the idea of a stand alone space force, saying in a May 1 speech<\/a> that \u201cWe\u2019re actually thinking of a sixth\u201d military branch for space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, that statement confounded Air Force leaders<\/a> who had publicly opposed the creation of a separate space service, leading them to adopt a softer tone when talking about the potential for Space Force to avoid being seen as out of step with Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

This time, however, Trump\u2019s announcement tracks with the Pentagon\u2019s schedule for an interim report on whether to establish an independent space corps. Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said in April that it was on track<\/a> to be wrapped up on June 1. The final report, which would be sent to Congress, is due in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s announcement was characteristically vague, but experts say that any new branch would have to come through an act of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Congress alone has the power to establish a new branch of the military and to establish the positions of senior executive officials to lead such a department,\u201d said Jonathan Turley, a professor at Georgetown University\u2019s law school who has studied constitutional issues relating to the military. \u201cWhile the Pentagon can informally create study or working groups, it has no such authority.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president can have the military lay the groundwork for a future new branch, Turley said, which is close to what Trump seemed to be getting at. <\/p>\n\n\n\t