Donald Trumphas announced that his administration will move forward with developing a multibillion-dollar missile defense system, called “Golden Dome”, and claimed that Canada was interesting in being part of it.
“Once fully constructed, the golden dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they are launched from other sides of the world, and even if they are launched from space,” Trump said. “Forever ending the missile threat to the American homeland.”
The US space force general Michael Guetlein will oversee implementation of the project, Trump said. The selection of Guetlein, vice-chief of space operations at the space force, means the elevation of a four-star general widely seen at the Pentagon to be competent and deeply experienced in missile defense systems and procurement.
Here are the key stories at a glance:
Flanked by the US defense secretary,Pete Hegseth, Trump announced the Golden Dome missile defense project on Tuesday in the Oval Office. The president said he wanted the project to be operational before he left office, and added that Republicans had agreed to allocate $25bn in initial funding and Canada had expressed an interest in taking part.
What exactly Golden Dome will look like remains unclear. Trump said on Tuesday evening that he had settled on architecture for the project and suggested the total cost of putting it into service would reach $175bn. He provided no further details.
Read the full story
Immigrant rights advocates have accused the Trump administration of deporting about a dozen migrants from countries including Myanmar and Vietnam toSouth Sudanin violation of a court order, and asked a judge to order their return.
Read the full story
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has defended theTrump administration’s decision toadmit59 Afrikaners fromSouth Africaas refugees after Tim Kaine, a Democratic senator from Virginia, said they were getting preferential treatment because they were white.
The clash between Rubio and Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s former running mate, came a day before South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, was due to meet Donald Trump at the White House in an encounter that promises to be highly charged thanks to the controversy surrounding the Afrikaner arrivals.
Read the full story
Donald Trump traveled to the Capitol on Tuesday to insist that the fractious House Republican majority set aside their differences and pass his wide-ranging bill to enact his taxation and immigration priorities.
In a speech to a closed-door meeting of Republican lawmakers, the president pushed holdouts to drop their objections, afterwards saying: “I think we have unbelievable unity. I think we’re going to get everything we want, and I think we’re going to have a great victory.”
But it is unclear if the president’s exhortations had the intended effect as at least one lawmaker said afterwards they still do not support the bill.
Read the full story
Elon Muskclaimed that he would decrease the amount of money he spends on politics for the foreseeable future. If true, the reduction would represent a significant turnaround after the world’s richest person positioned himself as the US Republican party’s most enthusiastic donor over the last year.
Read the full story
The US has “plenty of time” to solve theclimate crisis, the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, told a House committee on Tuesday.
The comment came on his first of two days of testimony to House and Senate appropriators in which he defended Donald Trump’s proposed budget, dubbed the “one big, beautiful bill”, that would extend tax reductions enacted during Trump’s first term, while cutting $5bn of funding for the Department of the Interior.
Read the full story
A majority of US companies say they will have to raise their prices to accommodate Trump’s tariffs in the US, according to a new report. More than half (54%) of the US companies surveyed by the insurance company Allianz said they will have to raise prices to accommodate the cost of the tariffs.
Read the full story
TheFBIdirector, Kash Patel, has scrapped a watchdog team set up to scrutinise a warrantless surveillance law he previously claimed was being abused to target supporters of Donald Trump.
Read the full story
Charles Kushner, the father of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared,has secured US Senate confirmation to serve asthe nation’s ambassador to France.
A participant in the January 6 attack pardoned by Trumpwas recentlyarrested for burglary and vandalism in Virginia.
The Trump administration lifted a stop work orderon a$5bn windfarm off the New York coastafter negotiations – but cancelled plans for a gas pipeline could be revived.
Catching up?Here’s what happened on19 May 2025.