Latest news with #JeffCrank
Fox News
27-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Battle over Space Command HQ location heats up as lawmakers press new Air Force secretary
Years after the first Trump administration moved to designate Alabama as the home of a permanent Space Command headquarters (HQ), the political tug-of-war for the base continues. Colorado Republicans are urging the president to rethink the decision while Alabama lawmakers insist it will and should move forward. After his May 13 confirmation, new Air Force Secretary Troy Meink can now expect a lot of calls from Capitol Hill pulling him in different directions over the HQ. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said he had already discussed the matter with him. "I look forward to his recommendation that he concur with the last two secretaries of the Air Force and recommend to Huntsville," he said. "And I fully expect, based on our conversation, that's going to be what happens." The Space Force's home for the time being — Colorado Springs, Colorado — makes sense from the money that has already been invested in setting up shop there, according to Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., whose district encompasses the current HQ. "It would mean $2 billion in savings to leave it where it is," Crank told Fox News Digital, pointing to savings from not having to build a new HQ building. President Donald Trump announced plans to move headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama, in his first term — but former President Joe Biden undid those plans when he came into office. Space Command has operated out of Peterson Space Force base in Colorado Springs since its 2019 inception. The command is responsible for military operations in space and will play a major role in the Golden Dome project. Crank argues that geographically, Colorado makes more sense — it is also home to Northern Command, and the two will need to coordinate over Trump's new Golden Dome missile defense project. "They've got to be seamless in their efforts to communicate," said Crank. "We don't want any delay in getting Golden Dome up and running." He argued that Space Command HQ, nestled into Cheyenne Mountain, is already "one of the most secure facilities" in the country. Being in the middle of the U.S., he added, makes it harder for enemies to attack. "From the standpoint of survivability, having that as an asset right there as well is, is really important." Rogers brushed off the complaints from his Colorado counterparts and argued Alabama had won fair and square. "They're just doing their job, you know, they don't want to see it leave," said Rogers. But, "they lost two nationwide competitions. It's not me saying it should be in Huntsville." He argued that right now, the command is spread out across four to five different buildings, some of which are outside the base perimeter. "None of them were built for classified operations," he said. "They just kind of make it work." Rogers pointed to a recent Defense Department inspector general (IG) report examining Biden's 2023 decision not to move the headquarters. That report found that then-Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall recommended that SPACECOM go to Redstone Arsenal, near Huntsville, Alabama, because the move would save $462 million. However, then SPACECOM Commander, Gen. James Dickinson, wanted to keep the permanent HQ in Colorado due to Air Force findings that the Alabama option would not be operational for three to four years. Dickinson and SPACECOM officers also worried that more than half of the highly trained civilian staff in Colorado would quit rather than move to Alabama for the job. "USSPACECOM leadership anticipated that the loss of civilian personnel might occur much sooner than (the Air Force) predicated and that USSPACECOM would be unable to secure the manpower investments needed to mitigate the impact of that loss on the command's readiness," the report states. However, Rogers argued, Colorado has had manpower issues as well. "The reason why Secretary Kendall didn't concur with them and recommended that it still be moved was that over 300 of the current jobs in Colorado Springs couldn't be filled," he said. "They had to contract them out." Crank argued that the cost findings in the IG report were flawed because it assumed Colorado would have to build a new HQ building, which he says it would not. "We don't need to build a new headquarters building," he said. "There is one there. If you say you need to build a new headquarters building, then I think it tips it in the favor of Alabama from a cost perspective by about $400 million." "But if you don't do that, and we don't need it, already have a headquarters building there, it saves the taxpayers $2 billion," he said. The IG report said it "could not determine" why Kendall never made a formal announcement decision for the SPACECOM transition after the September 2022 completion of an environmental impact assessment of the planned headquarters site in Alabama. Without a formal announcement, SPACECOM was able to declare full operational capability in Colorado, the report said. Rogers said the IG report proved the Biden administration's move was political, and predicted in April that Trump would formally name Alabama as the home of the Space Force within the month. However, Crank, along with GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert, Gabe Evans and Jeff Hurd, wrote to Trump and warned him that the move would affect readiness. "Moving the command would disrupt these established capabilities and partnerships, further diminishing our preparedness to face evolving threats," they wrote in a letter dated April 8. However, Rogers seems confident the move will go forward. "There's absolutely no national security implications for moving it," he said. "It needs to be in a permanent headquarters, and it needs to be inside the fence. All that's going to happen in Huntsville."
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cheyenne Mountain High School student wins congressional art competition
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A high school student in Colorado Springs took home best in show for their work in the Colorado 5th Congressional District Art Competition. Representative Jeff Crank presented the award on Friday, April 25 to Elizabeth Lopez of Cheyenne Mountain High School. Her artwork will be displayed for one year in the nation's Captiol, along the hallway between the Cannon House Office Building, and the U.S. Capitol Building for members of Congress, their staff, and thousands of visitors to view. The exhibit in Washington will also include artwork from other contest winners nationwide. '435 art pieces hang in that tunnel, so it's a way to just kind of walk along in an art gallery, and see these great pieces from the great kids,' said Crank. The competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Since then, over 650,000 high school students have been involved with the nationwide competition. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
New House resolution asserts Trump's use of centuries-old law to crack down on Tren de Aragua is 'essential'
EXCLUSIVE: A House Resolution affirming the Trump administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act to crack down on those suspected to be Tren de Aragua gang members will be introduced on Monday. "Coloradoans already know the truth: Tren de Aragua (TdA) is a terrorist organization active in our communities right now," Rep. Jeff Crank, who's introducing the resolution, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. "I fully support President Trump's executive order to designate them as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and to begin deporting these horrific terrorists. It is essential to our national security that known terrorists are quickly detained and deported out of our country by our law enforcement professionals," the Republican, who took office in January, continued. Specifically, the resolution says that the House of Representatives agrees with using the Alien Enemies Act to transport those who are part of a designated foreign terrorist organization. In addition, it "endorses the complete elimination of these organizations from the United States to protect the nation's territory, safety, and security." The resolution is co-sponsored by Reps. Lauren Boebert, Sheri Biggs, Tom Tiffany and Michael Guest. Tren de Aragua, as well as some cartel groups, were recently listed as a foreign terrorist organization by President Donald Trump, and some of the alleged members from MS-13 were brought to the Center for Terrorism Confinement in El Salvador. Since then, court cases have continued to make waves including U.S. District Court for D.C. Judge James Boasberg's legal tension with the administration over using the Alien Enemies Act, as Boasberg brought forth a temporary restraining order on using the law to deport the alleged members. Colorado has been on the frontline of gang activity by the Venezuelan organization, including issues at apartments in Aurora. "Now, we are learning that the command and control for TdA in the entire United States of America is right here in Colorado," Derek Maltz told Denver 7 last month, which was verified by DEA Rocky Mountain Division to Fox News at the time. Other legislation introduced by Colorado lawmakers has taken aim at policies in Colorado that opponents argue serve as a sanctuary for criminals. Rep. Gabe Evans introduced the "Unhandcuffing Police to Locate and Interdict Foreign Transgressors (UPLIFT) Act" in late February, which would give more power to local authorities to work with the federal government on immigration enforcement. "State laws have a national impact because if federal law enforcement uses information from a criminal justice database, and Colorado provided that information, the state and local cops in Colorado who provided that information can get in trouble," Evans told Fox News Digital at the time. "And so the feds don't want to get their state and local partners in trouble."
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colorado Congressman reacts to Signal chat
(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — A Colorado Congressman was asked for his reaction to the controversy of a journalist being invited to a Signal group chat with Trump Administration officials who discussed an upcoming military operation. Congressman for the 5th Congressional District Jeff Crank said while it shouldn't have happened, he is proud of National Security Advisor Mike Waltz for taking ownership of the mistake. He reiterated that classified information needs to be treated with the utmost respect. 'We can't have classified information, whether it's any member of Congress or any member of the administration. We all have to treat it with the utmost respect,' said Crank. 'I go to classified briefings, and I have an obligation to the United States government to the men and women that wear the uniform to make sure that classified information is protected.' Crank said the White House should investigate and ensure that the country does better moving forward. When asked if the military was owed an apology, Crank compared the Signal chat to Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server and how he never saw an apology for that situation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposed bill could restrict federal funding for sanctuary cities
(COLORADO) — Colorado Congressman Jeff Crank has introduced a new bill, which, if passed, would bar federal transportation dollars from going to sanctuary cities. On Thursday, March 6, Congressman Crank introduced his first bill to Congress as the Blocking Lawless Open Border Cities and States Act of 2025. Also known as the BLOC Act, it seeks to bar the Department of Transportation from funding infrastructure projects in sanctuary cities and counties that do not give a 48-hour warning to U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) ahead of the release of an illegal immigrant. 'It's simple: cities and counties that do not support federal law enforcement shouldn't have their coffers filled with federal dollars,' said Congressman Crank. 'For some odd reason, Democrats that run these sanctuary cities believe that federal dollars will be handed to them when they do not comply or support the federal government's orders. The BLOC Act sends a clear message: the Biden-Harris era of open borders and free government handouts to illegal immigrants is over.' According to Crank, the 48-hour warning allows ICE to apprehend individuals, enforcing federal immigration laws that sanctuary cities have tried to avoid. Crank used Denver as an example, which only gives ICE a one-hour warning before releasing an individual. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
