Trump pushes $175 billion 'Golden Dome' missile defense plan
The Excerpt
USA TODAY
4.4 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 21 May 2025
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a new missile defense system plan.
USA TODAY National News Reporter Eduardo Cuevas discusses findings that dozens of men sent to an El Salvador prison by the Trump administration entered the country legally.
A fifth inmate has been captured after last week's New Orleans jail break on the same day a maintenance worker was arrested in connection with the case.
USA TODAY Senior National Political Correspondent Sarah D. Wire tells us about some fired federal workers who are considering running for public office.
George Wendt, known by many as Norm on 'Cheers,' has died at 76.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Wednesday, May 21st, 2025. |
| 0:10.0 | This is the excerpt. |
| 0:15.0 | Today, what's in Trump and HexS Golden Dome Plan? |
| 0:18.0 | Plus what we're learning about how dozens of men the Trump administration sent |
| 0:21.4 | to a prison in El Salvador entered the U.S. legally, and some fired federal workers are considering |
| 0:26.8 | running for public office. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hagseth announced a |
| 0:33.8 | $25 billion initial investment in a so-called Golden Dome to shield the country from |
| 0:39.1 | missile threats. Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles, |
| 0:45.3 | even if they are launched from other sides of the world and even if they're launched from space. |
| 0:51.3 | The Golden Dome plan aims to cover the country with three layers of air defenses, |
| 0:54.9 | according to written Senate testimony by Northern Command Leader Air Force General Gregory Gio. |
| 0:59.9 | Sensors will let the military see incoming threats, ground-based interceptor missiles, and future |
| 1:04.4 | systems will target incoming ballistic missiles, and additional systems will deal with lower altitude |
| 1:09.1 | threats like hypersonic missiles and enemy drones. |
| 1:12.6 | The funding is included as part of the Trump-endorsed tax cut mega bill, currently working its way through Congress, the president said. |
| 1:18.6 | Military officials, experts, and intelligence agencies warn, the U.S. homeland is vulnerable to strategic attack. |
| 1:24.6 | Many of the Golden Dome's projected capabilities remain on the |
| 1:28.0 | drawing board, though, and its cost will depend on its desired scale. Trump said the system will |
| 1:32.9 | cost $175 billion, though details about that estimate remain unclear. The plan is not without its |
| 1:39.3 | skeptics. Independent Senator Angus King pressed top military missile defense officials in a congressional hearing last week, asking whether we could deny a substantial missile attack from Russia or China. |
| 1:54.0 | At least 50 of the Venezuelan men, the Trump administration, sent to a prison in El Salvador, entered the U.S. legally, according to a libertarian think tank. |
| 2:02.5 | I spoke with USA Today, national news reporter Eduardo Cuavos, to learn more. |
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