The Democrats have regained control of Congress and are sharpening their knives! The 750 billion "Trump-class warship" may be the first to be axed

The Democratic Party of the United States scored a historic victory in the midterm elections and successfully regained control of both houses of Congress. It is expected that many of the Trump administration's high-profile defense plans will face strict scrutiny and even be deleted. Among them, the expensive and controversial nuclear-powered "Trump-class" warship project is expected to become the top target of the new Congress.

The US military website "The War Zone" reported that since its launch in December 2025, the practicality and cost of the Trump-class warships have been questioned by both the Democratic and Republican parties. Democratic Rep. Adam Smith, who is expected to take over the House Armed Services Committee next year, and Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney, who may serve as chairman of the Seapower and Projection Subcommittee, are both strong critics of the plan.

Leaked internal letters show that Smith has appealed to fellow Democrats: "What we need is an appropriate combination of high-end survivability systems and low-cost attrition capabilities, not the fleet of nuclear-powered warships proposed by the president."

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think tank in Washington, pointed out that the Democratic Party will actively eliminate the Trump color in Washington. "This battleship is likely to be destined to fail, partly because of its name, and partly because it is extremely expensive and lacks good justification."

Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and retired Navy Rear Admiral, said more bluntly that the premise of the plan runs counter to the 10-year bipartisan strategy of spreading maritime lethality and is hampered by the ridiculously high cost - one Trump-class warship costs as much as 10 Arleigh Burke class destroyers. He believes that after the midterm elections, the plan has "grounded and started to suffer".

The Trump-class warship has a design displacement of 35,000 tons. It will be equipped with advanced sensors, vertical launch systems (VLS), electromagnetic rail guns and laser-guided energy weapons, and it is confirmed that it will use nuclear power for propulsion. The Navy originally planned to purchase at least 15 ships between fiscal years 2029 and 2055, with the first ship "USS Defiant" expected to enter service in 2036.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the cost of the first Trump-class warship may be as high as US$23 billion (approximately NT$754.1 billion), and the average cost of subsequent ships will also reach US$18 billion, even higher than the "Ford class" aircraft carrier.

In addition to warships, Trump's "Golden Fleet" plan, which requires Ford-class aircraft carriers to switch back to traditional steam catapult systems and the costly "Golden Dome" missile defense system, will also face strong challenges from Congress. Under the double attack of Iran's war, which consumes a large amount of ammunition stocks, and international pressure such as aid to Ukraine, the Trump administration's defense budget of up to 1.5 trillion US dollars will face a severe test next year.