Lawmakers press DOD for details on 'Golden Dome' homeland-defense plan and funding
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Summary
Multiple members asked Defense Department leaders to explain the administration's Golden Dome concept, a multi-layer homeland defense architecture described by officials as a $175 billion concept with a multi-billion-dollar down payment; lawmakers said program details and a congressional briefing are needed before major funding decisions.
House appropriators pressed Defense Department witnesses on June 10 for more detail about "Golden Dome," an administration priority described by DOD officials as a layered homeland-defense architecture.
Congressional members repeatedly said they had not been briefed on how the administration plans to spend the $175 billion figure mentioned publicly and sought specifics about what the $25 billion (described in the hearing as a reconciliation down payment) and the fiscal year 2026 request would buy.
Ranking Member Betty McCollum said at the hearing: "For example, Golden Dome at this point is merely a concept. It's not a plan. None of us have been briefed yet on how you intend to spend $175,000,000,000 or deliver this program in 3 short years." Members asked for the architecture, near-term buys, timelines and risk assessments.
Secretary Hegseth and senior DOD officials described Golden Dome as layered and said the department planned to use existing systems where feasible while adding new capabilities. Secretary Hegseth testified of a $25,000,000,000 near-term investment and Brynn McDonald, performing the duties of DOD comptroller, told members the department requested $24,800,000,000 in the fiscal year 2026 budget as a down payment on near-term capabilities.
Committee members asked for written details and program-level breakdowns, saying that high-level toplines and conceptual descriptions are insufficient to authorize large investments. Officials said they have pulled the program up to the Office of the Secretary of Defense to review the architecture monthly and that additional, more detailed briefings would be supplied for the record.