WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Huntsville, announced the creation of the House Golden Dome Caucus Tuesday, alongside fellow Republican Rep. Jeff Crank of Colorado, as President Donald Trump pushes to create a missile defense shield for the United States.
The caucus will advocate for defense policies and funding that will support the creation of the Golden Dome. Strong, who is a member of the Appropriations Committee, said the current threats facing the country require “immediate and decisive action.”
“The president has said that this Golden Dome is going to be funded through this appropriation cycle, and you start looking at this caucus, it’s critical to the people that I represent,” Strong told Alabama Daily News.
Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville is home to the Missile Defense Agency, which is expected to play a central part in supporting the Golden Dome.
“North Alabama has played a key role in every former and current U.S. missile defense program and will undoubtedly be pivotal to the success of Golden Dome,” Strong said.
New: @RepDaleStrong launches the House Golden Dome Caucus with CO Rep. Jeff Crank, who represents Colorado Springs, where SPACECOM HQ is currently located. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/R02bSpEXE5
— Alex Angle (@alexangle_) June 10, 2025
Crank, who announced the formation of the initiative at the Hudson Institute Tuesday, represents Colorado Springs, the current home of the U.S. Space Command headquarters. Crank and Strong are teaming up despite both lawmakers’ differing beliefs on where the headquarters should be located. Alabama leaders are actively advocating for the headquarters to be moved to Huntsville, while Crank is pushing to keep it in Colorado.
“Golden Dome is going to be a generational leap forward in the defense of the homeland and I think as members of Congress, we need to be ready to do that,” Crank said.
Strong said just like Alabama’s delegation, Colorado lawmakers are committed to national security.
“I do think that there’s some differences, but there’s a lot of things in common, and I think that he loves this country, just like I do, so that’s where you got to be able to work with others and make things happen,” Strong told ADN.
Trump announced his intent to create a Golden Dome with an executive order in January. The shield would be used to detect and stop missiles during all stages of attack. Last month, Trump estimated the project would cost $175 billion.
However, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the space-based components of the Golden Dome could cost up to $542 billion over the next two decades.
In Trump’s budget bill, the House Armed Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, allocated $25 billion for the space-based assets needed for the Golden Dome to combat hypersonic threats. The legislation is currently moving through the Senate.
Strong said the caucus will work to determine who exactly will be involved, such as subcontractors, and who will take the lead for the missile defense shield.
“That’s where we’ll be communicating with the president, with the options that we believe should be there, whether it’s the Missile Defense Agency (or) whether it should be a tight competition with private (companies),” Strong told ADN. “The big thing is we’ve got the right people in the Rocket City to do it.”
U.S. Sen Tim Sheehy, R-MT, launched the Senate Golden Dome Caucus in May, which will work closely with House lawmakers on the same mission.