President Trump’s national security advisor Mike Waltz forcefully defended the administration’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative, asserting it’s not a fad and remains a top priority. Speaking at the Hill & Valley Forum, Waltz called Golden Dome a strategic necessity. Initially “Iron Dome for America,” the project, proposed as a next-generation missile shield with space-based sensors and interceptors, received a boost in a GOP-backed spending bill. However, it faces opposition from Democrats concerned about undermining nuclear stability and provoking adversaries.
“I firmly believe we will look back on the initiation of Iron Dome, much like we look back on the game changer that was SDI [the Strategic Defense Initiative] in the 80s,” Waltz said. He drew parallels to President Trump’s Space Force initiative, initially ridiculed but later seen as prescient. “I recall just a few years ago, President Trump saying we need a space force…that you can’t be number one on Earth if you’re number two in space,” he said. “In every single war game that you play out now, the first shots are in space and in cyber.”
The partisan divide was evident in a House Armed Services’ Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) argued the U.S. faces growing missile threats and that Golden Dome addresses this. He acknowledged potential disagreements but emphasized “common-sense, bipartisan elements at the core of the president’s vision.”
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) countered, calling Golden Dome a “fantasy” that could trigger an arms race and make the U.S. less safe. “The goal of missile defense is to keep us safe, but paradoxically, more missile defense is not necessarily better if it upsets strategic stability…that could explode into a nuclear war,” Moulton stated.