Biden decides to stick with Space Force as branch of U.S. military

[February 04, 2021]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden is looking at all policies put in place by Republican predecessor Donald Trump, with a view toward possibly rolling them back, but not so the U.S. Space Force.

President Donald Trump gestures towards the U.S. Space Force flag during a presentation of the flag in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

"They absolutely have the full support of the Biden administration," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday about the Space Force, a day after her dismissal of a question about the service suggested Biden was less than enthusiastic about it.

The Space Force was created as a separate branch of the U.S. military by Trump, who spoke enthusiastically about the need for a force to protect American interests in orbit and celebrated its new flag in an Oval Office ceremony.

Since it was carved out of the Air Force, there had been speculation that Biden might seek to send the Space Force back to where it was before and deny Trump a signature achievement.

But Biden has decided to keep what has been called the world's only independent space force, officially established in December 2019.

"We are not revisiting the decision to establish the Space Force," Psaki said.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Steve Holland; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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