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The nation’s governors are alarmed by indications that Space Force leadership is “aggressively pushing a plan to fully implement Legislative Proposal 480 and remove Air National Guard space units from states by the end of the year.”
The National Governors Association expressed the concern in a statement issued Tuesday by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, the NGA chair and vice chair.
LP 480 is the language the Department of the Air Force forced into the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. It transfers 578 Air Guard space professionals to Space Force without the required legal consent of their governors.
Air Guard space units are in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, New York and Ohio.
Every state governor and the five territorial governors signed letters to the president or the secretary of defense last year opposing LP 480.
“Governors are commanders-in-chief of our states’ National Guards, and as such co-equal partners in the American system of government,” according to Polis and Stitt. “There has still been no formal notification to, coordination with, or consent obtained from the impacted states.
“This violates federal law and undermines the principles of cooperative federalism and the essential role that governors play in maintaining the readiness of the National Guard, and by extension ensuring the safety, well-being and security of our states and nation.
“Governors must be part of the conversation from the start, as has been the precedent for over 120 years,” the NGA leaders added.
“We were alarmed when the prior administration pursued this course of action, and we remain alarmed it’s continuing to happen now. We urge that any transfers cease immediately and that there be direct and open engagement with governors.”
─ By John Goheen
