A Democratic senator slammed the Trump administration’s decision to launch a new “Space Force” military branch, leveraging the Thursday announcement to call on Democrats to vote in November’s midterm election.
“The VP just announced a new military branch – a ‘Space Force,’ because no R is willing to tell POTUS it’s a dumb idea,” Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, wrote on Twitter. “Although ‘Space Force’ won’t happen, it’s dangerous to have a leader who cannot be talked out of crazy ideas. Elect D’s to check POTUS power.”
The VP just announced a new military branch – a “Space Force,” because no R is willing to tell POTUS it’s a dumb idea. Although “Space Force” won’t happen, it’s dangerous to have a leader who cannot be talked out of crazy ideas. Elect D’s to check POTUS power.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 9, 2018
Vice President Mike Pence declared during a speech at the Pentagon Thursday that the administration was determined to create a new sixth branch of the U.S. military by 2020, which would be tasked with defending U.S. satellites and counter adversaries in space.
Trump believes space is “a warfighting domain just like the air, land, and sea,” Pence said during the address.
A congressionally mandated Pentagon report released Thursday would outline the first steps toward establishing the new combatant space command, including plans for it to eventually come under a new Department of the Space Force, Pence added.
Trump took to Twitter shortly after the announcement Thursday to celebrate the development. “Space Force all the way!” he tweeted.
Space Force all the way!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2018
