President Trump announced Monday that he would direct the military to create a sixth branch of the armed forces aimed at dominating outer space.

President Donald Trump: “When it comes to defending America, it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space. We must have American dominance in space. So important. Very importantly, I’m hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces. That’s a big statement. We are going to have the Air Force, and we are going to have the 'Space Force.' Separate but equal.”

That was Trump speaking at a meeting of the National Space Council Monday. The Air Force currently oversees all outer space-related military activity. In his announcement, Trump said the “Air Force” and the “Space Force” would be “separate but equal”—parroting a phrase used to describe unconstitutional racial segregation. Defense Secretary James Mattis says he is opposed to creating a new “Space Force.”