{"id":54190,"date":"2021-02-03T20:10:58","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T20:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/02\/03\/with-the-full-support-of-the-biden-adminisration-the-space-force-is-officially-here-to-stay\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:56:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:56:52","slug":"with-the-full-support-of-the-biden-adminisration-the-space-force-is-officially-here-to-stay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/space\/2021\/02\/03\/with-the-full-support-of-the-biden-adminisration-the-space-force-is-officially-here-to-stay\/","title":{"rendered":"With Biden\u2019s \u2018full support,\u2019 the Space Force is officially here to stay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. President Joe Biden will not seek to eliminate the Space Force <\/a>and roll military space functions back into the Air Force, the White House confirmed Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters during a Feb. 3 briefing that the new service<\/a> has the \u201cfull support\u201d of the Biden administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not revisiting the decision,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Space Force has been a notorious and controversial presence in U.S. politics since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump took on the new military branch as a pet project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the idea of a separate service for space originated in Congress and developed bipartisan support, Trump\u2019s involvement in its establishment \u2014 which included his campaign selling Space Force-branded merchandise and recommending that his wife, Melania Trump, design the uniforms \u2014 made it a pop culture punching bag, as exemplified by the Netflix comedy series \u201cSpace Force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psaki was asked during a Tuesday press briefing whether the Biden administration would ultimately seek to abolish the new space service, which was formally signed into law in December 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWow, Space Force. It\u2019s the plane of today,\u201d she said, referencing previous questions about the Air Force One\u2019s paint job<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is an interesting question,\u201d she added. \u201cI am happy to check with our Space Force point of contact. I\u2019m not sure who that is. I will find out and see if they have any update on that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psaki\u2019s response raised the ire of Republicans, including House Armed Services Committee ranking member Mike Rogers, R-Ala., who criticized it as being disrespectful to members of the service and demanded an apology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later that night, Psaki tweeted that the Biden administration would continue working with the Space Force, but did not outright confirm that officials would continue to support the new service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe look forward to the continuing work of Space Force and invite the members of the team to come visit us in the briefing room anytime to share an update on their important work,\u201d she tweeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, Rogers told Defense News he hadn\u2019t had any underlying concerns about the branch\u2019s future because the incoming administration had signaled its support. However, he remained displeased Psaki hadn\u2019t apologized and at her unfamiliarity with the branch and its creation by Congress, where it enjoys \u201cvery bipartisan support,\u201d Rogers added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very serious branch taking on a very serious national security threat, so her ignorance on the topic disturbed me, and then her flippant attitude disturbed me. But what more disturbed me was, today, after she had been informed that it was a serious branch of the military dealing with a serious threat, she couldn\u2019t bring herself to say: \u2018I made a mistake,\u2019 \u201d Rogers said. \u201cI was glad to see her acknowledge what I already knew, and the administration has said before \u2014 that is, they\u2019re fully supportive of the Space Force and [know] its worth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief of Space Operations Gen. John \u201cJay\u201d Raymond<\/a> told reporters during a Wednesday morning roundtable that he would \u201cwelcome the opportunity\u201d to speak to the Biden administration about the ongoing work of the Space Force, which includes tracking debris in space, running the nation\u2019s GPS constellation, and managing satellites that provide communications links and help identify ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m very proud of the guardians in the Space Force<\/a>,\u201d he said.\u201d I see the value of this force each and every day, and I\u2019m happy to talk to anybody about the great work [it\u2019s doing].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who have been closely watching the universe of military space, the news of Biden\u2019s support for the Space Force will come as little surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Space experts \u2014 including Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies as well as Brian Weeden of the Secure World Foundation \u2014 told Defense News in January that the Biden administration will likely retain the Space Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt this point we have spent thousands and thousands of hours and years of effort to create this new bureaucracy in the hope that it will address these challenges,\u201d Weeden said. \u201cAt this point, we have no choice but to see that through. To now go back and spend even more time undoing all this stuff would be even worse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Gould of Defense News and Nathan Strout of C4ISRNET contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We look forward to the continuing work of Space Force and invite the members of the team to come visit us in the briefing room anytime to share an update on their important work.<\/p>— Karine Jean-Pierre Archived (@PressSec46) February 3, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>