President Donald Trump’s domestic missile defense shield is likely to be a key tenet of his forthcoming FY2027 budget request. But the Pentagon will need to overcome congressional skepticism to secure more funding for the effort.
Trump’s pet defense project, known as Golden Dome, already received a windfall through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. But that’s one-time money, and proponents of the effort are eager to translate that investment into a stream of annual spending.
“There are a million questions, a million details,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said. “But I think it’s a sound concept and I think the American people are supportive of it.”
Golden Dome is billed as a layered homeland defense program that combines systems based on the ground, in the air and in space to defeat incoming missile threats. The Space Force has already sent signals that leaders anticipate big budget growth starting in FY2027, due in part to the service’s role in supporting the missile shield.
Details, details. To realize that enhanced spending, however, the Trump administration will have to push past some bipartisan and bicameral frustration over the lack of information about the program shared with Congress.
“I can tell you how much we included within the reconciliation bill for Golden Dome, but in terms of what it exactly means, I think the Congress is still waiting to hear on that as well,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a senior appropriator, said.
Asked where she thinks the project is going, Murkowski responded: “That’s what I’d like to know.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.) said he anticipates Golden Dome will be a source of “argument” among appropriators going forward.
“It’s stirring, big debate here,” Mast said.
Demanding info. Appropriators used the FY2026 defense spending bill to demand more information from the Pentagon on its plans for spending the $23 billion that the Department of Defense already received under the reconciliation package for Golden Dome. Lawmakers faulted the administration for failing to provide basic details.
The Pentagon previously told the Hill it would submit its plan for spending the $23 billion in reconciliation funds on Golden Dome in November. But three months later, lawmakers are still waiting.
“I would hope we could have hearings on it — both classified and unclassified — to lay out the plan and also talk about budgets and where the money’s coming from, and how we’re going to integrate technology,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said.
