WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget faces a steep climb in Congress, with lawmakers warning that a Democratic majority in either chamber could block key parts of the plan after November’s elections. The record-setting request includes Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile-defense shield and a major Navy shipbuilding effort dubbed the Golden Fleet. The proposals are among the president’s signature military ambitions, but lawmakers from both parties say they are already struggling to advance the overall spending plan. Pentagon planners have not offered alternative funding plans if Congress rejects or cuts the request. Trump has promoted the projects in sweeping terms. He called the Golden Dome “about as close to perfect as you can have” and said the Golden Fleet would be “100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared with Trump at a White House event on the Golden Dome plan in May 2025. The dispute reaches beyond the president’s legacy projects. The potential budget impasse could affect how quickly the United States rebuilds weapons stockpiles that were heavily depleted during the Iran war. With control of Congress at stake, the next election could determine whether Trump’s ambitious defense agenda gets funded—or is pared back before it leaves the drawing board.