Former White House Trump officials are criticizing press secretary Jen Psaki’s comments about the Space Force, describing them as a “very bad blind spot” in relation to one branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Psaki, at the White House press conference on Tuesday, was asked whether President Biden would maintain the scope of the Space Force during his administration.
PSAKI ACCUSED TO MAKE FUN OF THE SPACE FORCE, REFUSES TO EXCUSE
“Wow. Space Force. It’s today’s plane!” Psaki said, seeming to scoff at the question, and seeming to compare it to one made by a reporter two weeks ago, asking about Air Force One’s color scheme.
“It’s an interesting question,” she said after the reporter countered the validity of the question. “I’m happy to check with our point of contact in the Space Force. I’m not sure who it is. I’ll find out and see if we have any updates on this.”
A former Trump official described his comments as “a pretty bad blind spot in one of the branches of the armed forces.” The official described the Space Force as a top priority for the Trump administration, pointing out, for example, how Russia tested anti-satellite missiles in mid-December.
General James Dickinson, commander of the United States Space Command, said in a statement in December that “Russia publicly states that it is working to prevent the transformation of outer space into a battlefield, but at the same time Moscow continues to arm the United States. space by developing and fielding orbiting and ground-based capabilities that seek to exploit the US dependency on space-based systems.
The Space Force was enacted by Congress in December 2019 and aims to protect U.S. special interests in space capabilities, making it the sixth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Psaki, on Tuesday night, amid criticism, went to Twitter to highlight the Space Force’s “important work”, although the White House press secretary did not include an apology.
“We hope to continue the work of the Space Force and invite team members to visit us in the instruction room at any time to share an update on their important work,” she said.
A former White House official said that “the team” Psaki refers to are not officials, but generals in the Armed Forces and also a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
RATCLIFFE DESIGNES SPACE FORCE AS 18th MEMBER OF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
Meanwhile, last month, Fox News reported for the first time that former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe designated the Space Force the 18th member of the intelligence community, in a move to “break down barriers” to sharing information and helping inform community analysis of threats in space.
Ratcliffe announced the designation of US Space Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Enterprise, which is the intelligence component of the Space Force.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) called the designation “a unique event in each generation”.
The Space Force intelligence element is the first new organization to join the intelligence community since 2006, when the DEA Office of National Security Intelligence joined.
The move, according to ODNI, will break down barriers to information sharing and ensure that Space Force leaders have access to all the information they would need to succeed.
The change also allows the intelligence community to have access to all knowledge of the operational space domain that would help inform their analysis of threats in space.
Blake Burman and Caitlin McFall of Fox News contributed to this report.