President Donald Trump on Monday said he was ordering the creation of a sixth branch of the military to focus on space, a move critics said could harm the Air Force.
“It is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space,” Trump said before a meeting of his National Space Council.
“We are going to have the Air Force and we’re going to have the ‘Space Force.’ Separate but equal. It is going to be something,” he said later.
The United States is a member of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which bars the stationing of weapons of mass destruction in space and only allows for the use of the moon and other celestial bodies for peaceful purposes.
The idea of a Space Force has been raised before, by Trump and previous administrations, with proponents saying it would make the Pentagon more efficient.
It has also faced criticism from senior military officials. Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein told a congressional hearing last year that creating a new space branch would “move us in the wrong direction.” 
The Air Force oversees most of the nation’s space-related military activity.
The move would require the budgetary approval of Congress, which has been divided on the idea.
“Thankfully the president can’t do it without Congress because now is NOT the time to rip the Air Force apart. Too many missions at stake,” US Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat, said on Twitter.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Trump’s comments, but officials said they will follow the White House’s guidance.