Members of Colorado’s congressional delegation and the mayor of Colorado Springs said on Tuesday that they expect Space Command’s permanent location will be decided based on national security considerations, not abortion politics.

It’s the latest wrinkle in an argument that has been raging for more than two years, since former President Donald Trump announced in the waning days of his administration that the command’s headquarters would move from its temporary home in Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Ala.

At the urging of numerous Colorado officials, President Joe Biden announced plans soon after he took office to review the move. Despite the completion of multiple federal inquiries and near-constant rumors that a decision was imminent, no announcement has been made.

“I appreciate all the politics swirling around this, but I ultimately believe the decision is going to be made on the basis of national defense,” Mayor John Suthers said in an interview, adding that he’s confident the Biden administration is focusing on what’s best for national security and the taxpayer.

Suthers said all indications are that the Biden administration is reviewing which location can reach full operational capacity the fastest, using a term military brass and administration officials have cited recently when they’ve hinted that the headquarters could remain where it is.

“I think Colorado Springs is going to prevail,” Suthers added.

Democratic U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, made similar points to The Gazette.

The Colorado officials were pushing back on an NBC News report published late Monday that quoted unnamed sources who suggested the Biden administration was considering reversing the move due to Alabama’s restrictive abortion laws, though the White House told the news outlet that access to reproductive health care wasn’t a factor in the pending basing decision.

“This is all about abortion politics,” an anonymous source identified only as a “U.S. official” told NBC News.

Administration officials told the national outlet that Alabama Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s ongoing standoff with the administration over the military’s abortion policies doesn’t have anything to do with the Space Command decision, though one noted the lawmaker’s stance is “not helping.”

Since February, Tuberville has placed what’s known as a “hold” on every Department of Defense nominee that’s come before the Senate for confirmation, citing new Pentagon policies that allow servicemembers and their families to travel to other states to access reproductive health care. The move has effectively stalled more than 230 nominations, including general officer promotions.

The Colorado lawmakers disputed the conclusion that abortion politics were playing a role in the decision.

“Space Command should stay in Colorado Springs for the simple reason that it’s what our national security demands,” Hickenlooper said in a statement.

“Putting aside Alabama’s extreme abortion law and Senator Tuberville’s cruel hold on military promotions, Space Command is nearly at Full Operational Capability,” he said.

“Moving it to Alabama will delay us by years at a time when we are under serious threat from Russia and China,” Hickenlooper added. “Trump admitted, on multiple occasions, that he was politically interfering with the military’s decision. We can’t let that stand.”

Lamborn, whose district includes Space Command’s temporary headquarters, said the ability for Space Command to be fully operational sooner in Colorado should be enough to halt the move to Alabama.

“National security is the only factor that should be taken into consideration when determining the permanent location of U.S. Space Command,” Lamborn said in an emailed statement. “Space Command is already almost at full operational capability (FOC) in Building 1 at Peterson SFB, and will reach FOC four to six years faster if it stays where it is. Reaching FOC should be the primary determining factor for this decision given the threats posed by China and Russia. I support efforts to reverse the previous decision based on national security grounds in the best interests of our nation.”

Lamborn told the Washington Examiner that he imagines there will be “some disappointed folks” in Alabama if the move is reversed.

“But I just don’t see the administration making a decision on purely political grounds, like whether abortion is favored or not favored here or there,” he added. “I would hope that they’re professional enough to make national security the focus of how they make their decision.”

Democrat Michael Bennet, Colorado’s senior U.S. senator, has taken a somewhat different approach to arguing that Space Command should stay put, repeatedly taking to the Senate floor in recent months to challenge Tuberville’s holds on Pentagon nominations.

“As I said on the Senate floor last week, reproductive freedom is important for our military readiness and national security, and it should be a factor in where we base Space Command,” Bennet told The Gazette on Monday. “It’s time to finish deliberations and keep Space Command where it belongs: in Colorado.”