Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at a White House press briefing with President Donald Trump about the deadly mid-air collision between an Army helicopter and a passenger plane near Reagan National Airport on January 29, screen image via White House video, January 30, 2025.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will join President Trump in the Oval Office this afternoon to make a major announcement, reportedly on national security and the Golden Dome missile defense system, modeled after Israel’s renowned Iron Dome.
Hegseth is also expected to speak on an investigation he’s launched into Biden’s botched Afghanistan Withdrawal at Kabul Airport in August 2021.
Space Force Vice Chief of Operations, General Michael Guetlein, will also reportedly join the two.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, President Trump signed the “Iron Dome for America” executive order in January, aimed at building a “state-of-the-art Iron Dome missile defense shield” to protect the United States from various aerial threats.
The Iron Dome for America: Trump Signs Executive Order to Build America’s Own Next-Generation Missile Defense Shield
President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and General Guetlein are expected to announce the latest developments at 3 pm.
Per Fox:
A total of $25 billion has been carved out of next year’s defense budget for this system, but the Congressional Budget office estimates it could cost as much as $500 billion over the next 20 years.
Last month, Reuters reported that Elon Musk’s SpaceX and two of its partners have emerged as frontrunners to build part of the missile defense system.
SpaceX is teaming up with software maker Palantir and defense technology company Anduril for a joint bid, with all three of the companies having met with top officials in the Trump administration and the Pentagon to pitch their proposal, sources told Reuters at the time.
Their plan is to build and launch 400 to up to more than 1,000 satellites to track the movement of missiles around the globe, the sources said. A fleet of 200 attack satellites armed with missiles or lasers would then eliminate enemy projectiles, but the SpaceX group is not anticipated to play a role in the weaponization of those satellites, the sources added.
This follows President Trump’s meeting with House Republicans on Capitol Hill earlier, where he reportedly asked lawmakers to stop haggling over the bill and move it forward to his desk.
“The bill will provide resources for the construction of President Trump’s Golden Dome to safeguard Americans from potential attacks,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a press briefing on Monday.
Watch the announcement live below:
The post WATCH LIVE: President Trump to Make Announcement on Golden Dome Missile Defense Plan with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – 3 PM ET appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.