标签： North America

Washington D.C. — A new independent analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has delivered a staggering cost projection for U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambitious national missile defense initiative, the “Golden Dome,” finding that developing, deploying, and sustaining the program over 20 years will reach roughly $1.2 trillion (£882 billion) — nearly seven times the total cost the Trump administration initially cited for the project. The CBO report, released publicly this Tuesday, breaks down the unprecedented spending, noting that acquisition costs alone for the multi-domain system will top $1 trillion. That price tag includes development and manufacturing of layered interceptor systems, as well as the construction of a new space-based network for missile warning and tracking, the congressional watchdog confirmed. Unveiled by President Trump just days into his second term in the White House this January, the Golden Dome is designed to blanket the entire continental United States in defensive coverage, capable of countering a wide range of aerial threats ranging from intercontinental ballistic missiles to advanced cruise missiles. The project was framed from its announcement as a response to the growing sophistication of next-generation offensive weapons developed by potential global adversaries. When Trump first announced the outlines of the plan last year, he said the program would require an initial $25 billion investment, with total long-term costs capped at $175 billion (£129.25 billion) — a figure that the new CBO analysis now completely invalidates with its far higher projection. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, who formally requested the independent cost estimate from the CBO, issued a sharp rebuke of the proposal following the report’s release. “The President’s so-called ‘Golden Dome’ is nothing more than a massive giveaway to defense contractors paid for entirely by working Americans,” Merkley said in a statement Tuesday. The BBC has reached out to both the White House and the U.S. Pentagon to request comment on the CBO’s findings and the criticism from lawmakers, but has not yet received a response. Beyond the sticker shock of the new cost projection, the report also underscores longstanding technical and strategic doubts surrounding the program. Defense experts and government officials have previously questioned whether a comprehensive nationwide defensive shield can actually be built to cover the United States’ massive landmass, while existing defense systems are already acknowledged to have fallen behind the pace of advanced weapons development by peer adversaries. The CBO’s analysis adds another critical warning: even if the full system is built as designed, it could still be overwhelmed by a large-scale full attack launched by major nuclear powers like Russia or China. The framework for the Golden Dome traces back to an early executive order from President Trump, which initially framed the initiative as an “Iron Dome for America” — a reference to the Israeli regional defense system. The order noted that the threat of advanced next-generation offensive weapons has “become more intense and complex” over time, creating a potentially “catastrophic” vulnerability for the United States. A week into his second term, the President directed the Department of Defense to draft formal development plans for the system, which the White House identified as the top priority to counter “the most catastrophic threat” facing the United States. Per Trump’s original description, the Golden Dome will integrate cutting-edge next-generation technologies across all operational domains: land, sea, and space. Key components include space-based tracking sensors and interceptor capabilities, with the President claiming last year that the system will be “capable even of intercepting missiles launched from the other side of the world, or launched from space.”

What was supposed to be a low-cost quick-fix renovation of the iconic Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has turned into a controversial, seven-times-over-budget project that raises questions about procurement rules, historic preservation, and executive decision-making just ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations this summer.

Federal government records now show the final projected cost for the repair and repainting project has jumped from the $1.8 million that former President Donald Trump publicly claimed it would cost to $13.1 million, more than doubling the original no-bid contract award of $6.9 million. The massive cost overrun comes amid ongoing legal pushback from a historic preservation nonprofit that has asked courts to halt work, arguing the project violates federal laws meant to protect culturally significant landmarks.

Stretching 2,030 feet between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, the 104-year-old reflecting pool has suffered from longstanding infrastructure problems for decades: persistent leaks, crumbling structural foundations, corroded pipes, excessive algae growth, and accumulated bird waste. For years, large-scale renovations were projected to cost up to $300 million and take more than three years to complete. Trump positioned his accelerated, low-cost overhaul as a smarter alternative, promising the project would deliver a fully functional, beautifully restored pool in time for the country’s 250th birthday celebrations, with a total price tag between $1.5 million and $2 million.

In a break from standard federal procurement rules that require open competitive bidding for public works projects, the Trump administration awarded the contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a Virginia-based firm that had previously completed pool repair work at one of Trump’s private golf clubs. Administration officials justified the no-bid award using an emergency exemption meant for urgent, unplanned repairs. The contract mandates all work be finished by May 22, a far faster timeline than the multi-year overhaul originally proposed, to meet the anniversary deadline.

Work on the drained pool kicked off over the weekend, and Trump personally inspected the site last week, traveling across the empty pool bed in his motorcade to view progress. During the inspection, he told reporters the renovated pool would be superior to its original condition, saying, “It’s much more beautiful than it was new because it never had the colour people wanted, but now it’s going to have the great colour. So it’s going to be good.” The project is part of a broader slate of capital beautification and construction initiatives Trump has prioritized since returning to office, including a proposal to build a 250-foot national victory arch, the demolition of the White House East Wing to construct a new presidential ballroom, and the rebranding of multiple federal and cultural institutions to add his name.

The administration’s procurement process and the changes to the historic landmark have already drawn legal challenge. The Cultural Landscape Foundation, a nonprofit focused on responsible stewardship of historic public landscapes, filed a lawsuit seeking an immediate halt to construction. The suit argues that the ongoing resurfacing and repainting work is permanently eroding the unique historic character of the reflecting pool, and that Trump’s administration violated federal laws that regulate alterations to protected national landmarks.

Even as costs have ballooned far beyond the president’s original promise, it remains uncertain whether the accelerated, low-impact renovation will actually resolve the pool’s longstanding underlying structural problems. Critics continue to question both the legality of the no-bid contract award and the wisdom of altering a century-old national landmark to meet a political deadline.

In a surprise announcement from the White House on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump confirmed that U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary is departing his role, less than 15 months after he took office. The exit comes as Makary faced mounting pushback from both within the administration and outside groups over a series of high-profile policy disagreements.

Trump told reporters ahead of his departure for a state visit to China that Makary had been encountering professional difficulties, noting that a deputy commissioner would serve as acting head of the agency while the administration searches for a permanent successor. The president stopped short of clarifying whether Makary was fired or chose to resign, offering only a brief, warm assessment of his tenure: “He’s a great doctor, he’s a friend, and he’s going to go on and do well.”

A British-American surgeon who previously served on the faculty of Baltimore’s renowned Johns Hopkins University, Makary first rose to public attention as a leading voice for the Make America Healthy Again movement. Nominated by Trump to lead the FDA shortly after Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Makary was confirmed by the Senate in March 2025. At the time of his appointment, Trump framed the pick as part of a broader push alongside Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to crack down on harmful chemicals in food and pharmaceutical overuse among American youth, with the goal of addressing rising childhood chronic disease rates.

But Makary quickly found himself at odds with the administration on multiple key policy files. Most notably, he resisted a White House push to greenlight broad approval of flavored e-cigarette products, a category long linked to youth vaping outbreaks by public health advocates. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Makary overruled internal agency scientists to block approval of fruit-flavored vapes from a major U.S. manufacturer, directly contradicting Trump’s repeated public pledges to move forward with approvals. In early May, the FDA ultimately authorized the first set of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, including mango and blueberry varieties, made by Los Angeles-based manufacturer Glas.

Makary also drew fierce criticism from anti-abortion groups after the FDA approved a generic version of the abortion medication mifepristone, a decision that expanded access to the drug by lowering costs. Leading anti-abortion nonprofit Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America publicly called for Makary’s ouster over the approval. Beyond these flashpoints, he also earned the ire of the pharmaceutical industry over a higher-than-expected rate of new drug approval denials, particularly for rare disease treatments and cancer therapies.

Makary’s departure marks the latest high-level exit from HHS under Kennedy’s leadership. Earlier in 2026, HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill stepped down from his role, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez left the agency in 2025. His exit also joins a string of recent senior personnel changes across the Trump administration, which have also seen the departure of Navy Secretary John Phelan, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in recent months.

Prior to his appointment to lead the FDA, Makary was a prominent critic of federal public health policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, most notably expressing skepticism about mass vaccine mandates. Born in Liverpool, England, Makary moved to the U.S. as a child and was raised in Baltimore, Maryland, the same city that would become home to his long-time academic career at Johns Hopkins. The BBC has reached out to HHS to request additional comment on Makary’s departure, and no additional details on the timeline for naming a permanent replacement have been released as of Tuesday.