Key facts
- Lawmakers are advocating for a bipartisan approach to fund the $185 billion Golden Dome missile defense project.
- Concerns were raised about the Pentagon using reconciliation to fund the program, bypassing traditional appropriations.
- The program's funding is uncertain due to political complexities and the government operating under a continuing resolution.
- President Donald Trump announced the initiative in January 2025, with roots in bipartisan congressional language.
- The Golden Dome aims to create a layered architecture of sensors, interceptors, and command-and-control systems.
- Gen. Michael Guetlein stated the program would cost $185 billion over 10 years, prioritizing defense against decapitation and rogue nation attacks.
Lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee are urging a bipartisan approach to fund the Pentagon's $185 billion Golden Dome missile defense project, expressing concern that the use of reconciliation—a process allowing appropriation with a simple majority—has politicized a program with broad support.
During a September 29 hearing, senators lamented the Pentagon's decision to use reconciliation to initiate the program in 2025. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) stated that the funding should have been handled on a bipartisan basis, while Senator Angus King (I-Maine) described the initiative as one of the government's most expensive and important, making the circumvention of the traditional appropriations process "very bothersome." Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) pointed out that while the program gained prominence under President Donald Trump's administration, its origins lie in bipartisan congressional efforts to codify a layered missile defense architecture.
President Trump's January 2025 announcement of an expansive homeland missile defense system, initially dubbed "Iron Dome For America" and later "Golden Dome," brought significant attention and funding. The system is envisioned as a layered architecture of sensors, ground and space-based interceptors, and interconnected command-and-control systems designed to counter various threats, including drones, traditional weapons, and advanced hypersonic and cruise missiles.
The Pentagon's funding strategy has relied on bypassing the annual budget process through reconciliation. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," passed in July 2025, allocated $25 billion to Golden Dome, with 90 percent obligated by mid-August, according to program director Gen. Michael Guetlein. For fiscal year 2027, the Pentagon requested $17 billion as part of a $350 billion reconciliation package, with only $400 million in the base budget. However, there is currently little political momentum for another reconciliation spending bill, leaving Golden Dome's near-term funding path unclear.
Adding to the funding uncertainty, the federal government is operating under a continuing resolution (CR) since October 1, which freezes spending at prior year levels. As Golden Dome lacks a fiscal 2026 appropriation to serve as a baseline, the CR offers no fallback funding. General Guetlein warned in August that a CR poses a significant challenge for the program, and a failure to secure fiscal 2027 funding would be disastrous.
Gen. Guetlein stated on September 17 that the Golden Dome initiative prioritizes defense against "a coercive decapitation or rogue nation attack against the homeland." This marks the first public detail on implementing President Trump's January 2025 executive order for a reference architecture against peer, near-peer, and rogue adversaries. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in May 2026 that a comprehensive system could cost $1.2 trillion over 20 years, a figure Guetlein disputes, stating his program's 10-year cost will be $185 billion. The Pentagon has not provided the CBO with requested briefings to inform cost analysis.
The program's implementation is planned in two stages: the first by 2028, focusing on integrating existing capabilities for decapitation and rogue state attacks, and the second by 2035, incorporating "next-generation technologies" like directed energy and quantum systems. The Space Force's space-based interceptor program, a component of Golden Dome, recently passed its first milestone with 12 contractors demonstrating system integration capabilities. Flight tests for these interceptor systems are scheduled to begin in 2027, with the Space Force anticipating $3.2 billion in prizes for companies involved in the competition.