The president also intends to carry out plans already underway at the direction of Congress to establish a U.S. Space Command, according to a draft presidential directive. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Exclusive Trump going for full-blown Space Force, White House memo reveals

President Donald Trump plans to go ahead with asking Congress to establish a Space Force as an independent branch of the military, according to a draft presidential directive obtained by POLITICO — committing to the biggest restructuring of the U.S. military in seven decades despite bipartisan skepticism on Capitol Hill.

The draft, produced after months of internal review, outlines much-awaited details for what would be the first new military service since 1947. It indicates that Trump, who has championed the standalone Space Force, is still interested in pursuing an entirely new branch, despite criticism of the proposal on Capitol Hill and even initial opposition within the Pentagon.


The White House directive provides no estimate of what the Space Force would cost, although previous estimates have ranged from less than $5 billion to as high as $13 billion over five years.

Under the proposal, the Department of the Space Force would be headed by a civilian secretary — just like the Army, Navy and Air Force — and either a four-star general or admiral. The latter person would also serve as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the draft directive dated Nov. 19.

"Under this proposal, the Space Force will organize, train and equip national security space forces of the United States to ensure unfettered access to and freedom to operate in space, and to provide vital capabilities ... in peacetime and across the spectrum of conflict," the draft directive says.

POLITICO Space POLITICO’s weekly must-read briefing on the second space age. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The Space Force's priorities, the draft says, would include "protecting the nation's interests in space and the peaceful use of space for all responsible actors"; "deterring aggression and defending the nation, U.S. allies and U.S. interests from hostile acts in and from space"; and "projecting power in, from and to space in support of the nation's interests."

The White House and Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment on the draft, which is still awaiting final review.

The new branch would draw troops from across the military, including the National Guard and Reserves, that are dedicated to a broad range of military tasks, including intelligence, weapons acquisition and cyber operations. It would also be responsible for overseeing the acquisition of all space technologies and weapons, including a new Space Development Agency.

The president also intends to carry out plans already underway at the direction of Congress to establish a U.S. Space Command, according to the draft. The command would absorb all space-related responsibilities now carried out by U.S. Strategic Command and would train space forces from all the military branches until a Space Force is established.

The Space Force's exact authorities for operating in combat still need to be fleshed out, according to the draft. It calls on the National Space Council and National Security Council to carry out an "accelerated review of proposed space operational authorities," a task the White House space body that Trump reestablished last year discussed as its public meeting in October.

The Space Force would not include any elements of NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or other civilian agencies with a role in space. Nor would it subsume the National Reconnaissance Office, which builds and operates spy satellites for both the military and spy spy agencies and under the proposal remains independent, the directive says.

However, the draft directive does order closer cooperation between the Pentagon and intelligence agencies in space operations, calling on the secretary of Defense and director of national intelligence to complete a report within 180 days laying out new ways to collaborate.

The White House document is effectively a summary of a fuller legislative proposal that the Pentagon is preparing for Congress that will be delivered to the Office of Management and Budget this week.

The House and Senate, which have the constitutional authority to raise armies, will ultimately have to agree to the new branch — and provide the funding.

The directive says the Pentagon will propose a budget as part of its fiscal year 2020 spending request early next year. But in a sign that the administration anticipates pushback from Congress, it maintains that the forthcoming legislative proposal "provide the discretionary authority to ensure a lean model" for the Space Force's headquarters and bureacracy.

A senior defense official involved in the deliberations said that the proposal is designed to be scaled up or down in size, depending on what option the administration feels could clear Congress, and that a Pentagon working group is still assessing various options short of a full-blown military branch. Those include a smaller Space Corps that would fall under the Air Force.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who is expected to chair the Armed Services Committee beginning in January, opposes a separate Space Force, saying it would bring unnecessary costs and overhead. He has expressed openness to other approaches to beefing up the military space mission.

“What was achievable last month is not achievable today,” the official said, referring to Democratic ascendancy in the House.