CBO Estimates Trump’s 'Golden Dome' Defense at $1.2 Trillion

The report highlights that the vast majority of the expenditure—roughly 60% of total costs—would stem from a space-based interceptor layer. Despite the massive investment, the CBO notes that the system would fail to provide an impenetrable shield against large-scale attacks from adversaries like Russia or China. The agency further cautioned that because the Department of Defense has yet to provide critical technical details, the final long-term cost remains impossible to calculate with precision.

Critics have seized on the report to frame the initiative as a financial windfall for defense contractors rather than a viable security measure. Senator Jeff Merkley described the project as a “massive giveaway” paid for by taxpayers, while Senator Ed Markey labeled the plan a “golden sieve” that would balloon the national deficit without guaranteeing protection. The proposal, which Trump has likened to Israel’s Iron Dome, faces growing scrutiny over the massive disparity between its projected costs and its functional utility.