Trump's battleship going down? Which projects will Democrats block?

The Democratic Party’s victory in the elections for both houses of Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate) heralds significant changes on the American political scene. While this does not imply a revolutionary shift, especially in the realm of foreign policy, pushing through further initiatives will become considerably more difficult for the Trump administration than before.

Elections that will change a great deal

From 3 January 2027, the date of the official swearing-in of the new Congress, a new era will begin in the United States. Regarding what will change, we wrote shortly after the first mid-term election results: „We know that taking control of the Senate will allow the Democrats to block key presidential nominations for federal or judicial positions. We will frequently witness so-called political gridlock, meaning a lack of deeper reforms and the necessity for more frequent negotiations between the White House and Congress. Changes on Capitol Hill will also directly affect the President himself – primarily through impeachment, which the House of Representatives will now find much easier to pursue (…).”

The general predictions mentioned above will certainly translate into specific solutions. This also includes the arms investments grandiosely announced by Trump. Which projects might be buried?

"Trump-class" battleships first on the chopping block?

The list of ventures whose implementation is in question includes at least several projects. First and foremost, the American media point to the „Trump-class” warships announced at the end of 2025. For various reasons, the investment has sparked controversy from the outset. Most often, attention was drawn to the very high costs of the entire undertaking. Retired US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, speaking to the „tzw10” portal, mentioned that the cost of a Trump battleship could equal the costs of as many as 10Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

Maciej Szopa also wrote about the enormous costs of President Trump’s idea. „At a navy conference in Virginia, Eric Labs estimated that, depending on the chosen design variant, the price of the prototype would be at least $15.1 billion, and could even reach $22 billion. For comparison, the first nuclear-powered Ford-class aircraft carrier, which is three times larger (displacing over 100,000 tonnes), cost $13 billion,” he wrote in this analysis.

The result of the recent elections almost certainly means reshuffles at the head of Congressional bodies: the House Armed Services Committee and the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces. If the helm of these groups is taken by Congressmen Adam Smith (Washington) and Joe Courtney (Connecticut) respectively – both known for their sceptical approach to the project in question – pushing through funding for this investment will face stiff resistance.

Further projects under threat

The coming weeks will bring more resolutions, but we can already assume that the more a project was pushed by Trump himself, the more the Democrats will do to ensure it encounters problems. Another example that comes to mind in this context is the „Golden Dome for America” missile shield, repeatedly announced by the President. Given that the project is still in the early legislative and budgetary stages, the chances of its implementation are clearly declining.

We asked Jakub Palowski, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Defence24.pl, for a comment on the future of individual investments.

„At this moment, it is difficult to determine which specific Pentagon programmes are most at risk. However, a fairly likely scenario is that some of them will not be cancelled but slowed down. For example, the F-47 sixth-generation fighter is a very high priority, as are the accompanying Collaborative Combat Aircraft drones. The B-21 bomber, already started earlier, is also essential, as is the new intercontinental missile programme, because the USA must maintain the capability of its nuclear deterrent system. There is also a need to accelerate the procurement of precision ammunition. I would expect that this will be implemented to some extent, but likely not on the scale envisaged by the administration,” the expert concluded.