Former President Donald Trump wants a Space National Guard.
Trump stated his intention to create the Space National Guard while speaking at the 146th National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) General Conference and Exhibition in Detroit, Michigan on Monday (Aug. 26).
“Now that Space Force is up and running, I agree with your leadership — you want this very badly — but I agree that the time has come to create a Space National Guard as the primary combat reserve of the U.S. Space Force,” Trump told attendees at the conference according to The Hill.
Trump also touted the creation of the Space Force during the speech. The former president signed legislation in 2019 that created the U.S. military’s newest branch.
“One of my proudest achievements in my first term was to create Space Force, the first new branch of the armed forces in over 70 years; it’s a big deal,” Trump said. “So as president, I will sign historic legislation creating a Space National Guard,” he continued. “So we’re going to do that. Space Force has been very important, very, very important.”
Related: What is the U.S. Space Force and what does it do?
The idea to create a Space National Guard is not new. Lawmakers in the U.S. Congress have been proposing the idea since 2021, but it has yet to receive enough support to pass.
Last year, the office of President Joe Biden issued a statement arguing against the creation of a Space National Guard, writing it would only “create a new bureaucracy with far-reaching and enduring implications and expense.” Many of the same arguments were made in opposition to the creation of the Space Force.
Secretary of the U.S. Air Force Frank Kendall made similar comments during a media roundtable at the Space Foundation’s annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs in April 2024. “I have no indication that either the Air Force or the Army Guard, anybody’s contemplating any other changes. And the impact is really, I think, negligible.”
“I don’t see — governors may have a different view — but I don’t see a reason why a state needs a Space Force militia. I think that part of the reason these units exist in the states is kind of an artifact of history in some way,” Kendall said.
National Guard personnel differ from active military servicemembers in that, for one, they can hold civilian jobs or attend school while also serving in the guard part-time. National Guard units also report to state governments in addition to the federal government, and can be called upon by state governors to respond to civilian emergencies.
