2/20/2019

MILITARY/SPACE FORCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Tuesday [2-19-19] signed his much-awaited presidential directive laying out how his administration wants to organize a military Space Force. ‘It’s the future. It’s where we’re going,’ Trump said at the White House. ‘I suspect, whether we like it or not, that’s where we’re going. It’s space. That’s the next step, and we have to be prepared.’ The basics: The new service will remain under the Air Force and be led by a civilian undersecretary for space and four-star chief of staff who will also sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump initially called for a ‘separate but equal’ branch but settled on a less ambitious solution to address concerns in Congress about creating an expensive new bureaucracy. Startup cost, a senior administration tells us: less than $100 million. So what’s next? The Trump administration will release its formal legislative proposal next month when it sends its defense budget request to Capitol Hill, where the outlook for passage has steadily brightened.”

Jacqueline Klimas, “Trump issues Space Force directive,” Politico, February 20, 2019 7:00 am