President Trump announces space command move to Huntsville, Alabama
President Donald Trump has announced that the US Space Command headquarters will move to Huntsville, Alabama.
WASHINGTON – Competition to replace Tommy Tuberville in the US Senate is intensifying. Trump administration officials helped coordinate the unprecedented blockade of military confirmation.
Morgan Murphy, a former Tuberville aide who worked at the White House until last week, announces his candidacy for Alabama’s Open Senate seat at an event in Birmingham, Alabama tonight.
Murphy, a captain of the US Navy Reserve and a former food critic who worked for Southern Living and Forbes before entering the national security space, is his first candidate. He earned notoriety in Washington for his months-long retention of Engineering Tuberville’s military promotion over objections to the Department of Defense abortion policy.
“I feel that President Trump’s first American agenda is called to run because it is the first political movement of my life that makes sense to me,” Murphy told USA Today. “And I would like to see his commonsense approach to government not only for another three and a half years while he is in office, but even more.”
Tuberville bans re-elect bids to run for Governor of Alabama in 2026. The former Auburn University football coach did not respond to requests for comment.
Alabama was rated “safe” for Republicans
A small number of Republicans have already declared their candidacy for the Tuberville Senate seat, including former U.S. Marine Corps Jared Hudson, state Attorney General Steve Marshall and another closely-appointed Trump nominee, Barry Moore.
Winners of the GOP contest in Alabama could potentially win the general election. Alabama is generally considered a “safe” seat for Republicans.
Marshall had an early lead among Republican voters in a late August poll by the Alabama poll. He supported 16% of Moore and 7% of Hudson in the votes 37% respectively. Businessman Rodney Walker was 1% in the survey. 40% of those who voted said they were undecided.
Murphy, 53, floated a Senate bid shortly after Tuberville announced his plan in May. He has one 10-year-old son and lives in Birmingham.
His previous roles include serving as Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller’s spokesman for Trump’s first administration and serving as a military aide for Tuberville. Murphy also served as a senior fellow at the American First Policy Institute in support of Trump, along with Keith Kellogg, the president’s special envoy to Ukraine.
He also served as Kellogg’s public diplomacy director at the White House and the State Department from the end of February until last Friday.
Miller told USA Today by phone that Murphy was assigned to handle his official duties, but they were of similar age and quickly bonded, making Murphy one of his most trusted advisors.
The Senate’s confirmation and retention strategy that Murphy worked on in his Tuberville office was “very effective and very transformative,” and other policies he developed became a template for how the Trump administration tried to reduce the size of its government, Miller said.
Trump announced in early September that he plans to move US Space Command to Huntsville, Alabama to give Murphy the launch of a defense investment campaign, Miller noted. “He’s kind of guy, he knows business,” said a former Trump administration official.
In a statement about his candidacy, Murphy highlighted Trump’s relationship with Tuberville. His office resigned from a profile that he believes has coordinated military ownership.
“I believe both President Trump and Coach Tuberville demand excellence at all levels,” Murphy told USA Today. “I am proud to have worked for both men and I will make it my mission to continue their fight in the US Senate for years to come.”
Kellogg did not provide a comment. The White House did not respond to requests.
Murphy spoke to Tuberville and told the White House he was informed of his bid but that he had not spoken directly to the president.
“The president likes to support the winners. I want to prove that I have support before I ask him for his support,” Murphy said.
He also said he would like to gain support at the Primary in Twoverville, but did not participate in the race in the hopes of automatically receiving any of the former boss’ support.
Trump has a complex history with support from the Alabama Senate
Trump has easily won Alabama with over 60% of his vote in the last three elections. But when it comes to his Senate support, the state was a source of heartburn.
Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned from his Alabama seat in 2017 to join the Trump administration. He was kicked out of his role the following year after an attack from Trump and over his handling of Russian conspiracy investigations in the department.
Luther Strange, then-Alabama Attorney General, was appointed to fill the vacancy and made a special election to support Trump to fill the terms of office for the remaining sessions. However, he lost his GOP primary to Roy Moore, a former Supreme Court judge of the Alabama Supreme Court, whose campaign was wrecked by allegations of sexual assault.
Republicans kept their distance from Moore until Trump supported him just before the election. The close contest made former US lawyer Doug Jones the first Democrat to be elected to the Senate from Alabama for the first time in 25 years.
While sitting on the poll in 2020, Trump was waiting for his retired football coach to support Tuberville until it was leaked for the session.
In other Senate seats in Alabama, Trump supported support from former Rep. Mo Brooks in the Republican primary and later yanks. He then ultimately supported the winners in the 2022 contest. Senator Katie Britt is Richard Shelby, a former Republican aide who has retired from his seat.
