Joe Biden, the new president-elect, pledged to review a lot of President Donald Trump’s changes at the Pentagon, but the Space Force project is expected to live on, reported The Hill.
Ever since Trump started talking about the project, it has been a target to late-night comedians and inspired a Netflix satire. The Space Force was considered a wasteful flight and some progressive groups called for Biden to abolish the project.
Biden and his team did not respond to the requests for comments from The Hill and it seems that they don’t have some detailed plans about the military service.
The Space Force enjoys bi-partisan support among the lawmakers and it will be hard to get rid of, because it would take an act of Congress. The opinion is that the new branch of military service is vital to counter Russia and China in the “space race.”
The general in charge of the Space Force says that they will remain focused on growing the service in its second year, as it celebrates its first anniversary on Sunday.
Gen. John Raymond the Chief of Space Operations told reporters this week “What isn’t going to change is my focus and the focus of our team, and that is on building a service that delivers national advantages.”
The General also added that he’s “not in the politics business,” but that he had a “very good conversation” with Biden’s transition team, and he don’t want to “speculate” on the Space Force’s future.
With Trump signing the annual defense policy bill on Dec. 20, 2019 the Space Force was created, as sixth branch of the military, with 2400 service members since and planning to grow to 6400 members in 2021 and add a reserve component.
The troops in the service will be called “guardians,” says Vice President Pence on ceremony in The White House Friday, celebrating the first birthday of the Space Force.
“Sailors, soldiers, airman, Marines and guardians will be defending our nation for generations to come,” added Pence.
Even if it was Trump’s idea and he came up with the name, the Space Force was born from the bi-partisan House proposal.
One of the architects of the Space Force, Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), urged Biden to understand the importance of the service and highlighted its congressional origins.
“I hope the next administration understands the need for a Space Force – which was in the works long before Trump got on board,” said Cooper in a statement for The Hill.
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