Forty years after President Ronald Reagan first conceived the idea, defense industry leaders say the technology is finally advanced enough to build an invisible protective dome of space-based radars, missile interceptors and laser weapons over the United States.

President Donald Trump, infatuated by the Iron Dome missile defense system over Israel, first ordered the Defense Department to begin drawing up plans for a U.S. version, the ‘Golden Dome,’ in January. 

But Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey, so a dome of protection could prove far more daunting for the much larger land mass of the U.S. And the threats to Israel usually come from its neighbors, who use short-range weapons. America’s foes — North Korea, Iran, Russia and China — are half a world away and armed with intercontinental ballistics missiles (ICBMs) and hypersonics, all factors that make the project more challenging for a nation on the size and scale of the U.S.

So questions remain. Will the Golden Dome encompass the entire country, including Hawaii, Alaska and U.S. military bases in locations like Guam? Would it be able to protect against short-range missiles, long-range missiles, unmanned and manned aircraft? 

Answers may come at least in part at the end of the month, when the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget present a funding plan for the project to the White House. But defense industry leaders say the technology exists to make a Golden Dome a reality. 

‘​In our view, it has to kind of be a layered system. Because, you know, shooting a UAV, for example, is very different than shooting a hypersonic vehicle or hypersonic weapon,’ Raytheon CEO Phil Jasper told Fox News Digital. His aerospace company, a major U.S. defense contractor, manufactures the Patriot missile system, Javelin anti-tank missiles and a variety of radar and air defense systems.

The U.S. already employs a layered missile defense system known as the Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) System that uses radar to detect incoming missiles and fire off interceptors. 

It has technology like the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) battery to intercept ballistic missiles and the Patriot to intercept cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and aircraft. But the country only has seven active THAAD batteries deployed globally, with an eighth expected to become operational this year. 

Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein said weeks ago that building a Golden Dome will require a Manhattan Project-level whole-of-government approach from the missile defense agency, Air Force, Army, Navy, Space Force, Coast Guard and more. 

Defense contractors, some of whom have believed a Golden Dome-like project was on the horizon for years, say the protection zone may start around major cities like New York and Washington, D.C., or sensitive military sites before expanding to protect the entire homeland. 

‘What I’m understanding [the goal] really is to protect the entire U.S. It is to put a dome around the homeland,’ said Edward Zoiss, president of space and airborne systems for L3Harris Technologies.

Jasper predicted some of these defensive measures could be installed rapidly, as soon as 2026. 

‘What the administration has laid out is that building block approach that you can start to protect certain areas, at times, certain regions, and build that out as you continue to produce these systems. And they can continue to come off of production lines,’ he said.  

BlueHalo CEO Jonathan Moneymaker said the dome would be ‘less of a technology problem’ and more of an organizational structure challenge. 

‘The full potential of all of those capabilities working in conjunction with each other, at that scale, there’s definitely some new elements there,’ Moneymaker said.

John Clark, Lockheed’s vice president of technology and strategic innovation, said the plan will require the Pentagon to ‘think about what it has on the shelf.’ 

‘There are systems that sit today in the Air National Guard or in our current local defense infrastructure domestically. Those could actually be deployed inside of the U.S,’ he said. 

Clark noted that deploying defense infrastructure at home would ‘draw down our current inventory for conflict in the greater world.’ But he suggested that anything pulled out of an Army base today could be backfilled at a later date for global use.

Zoiss, whose company, L3Harris Technologies, has already built satellites for the missile defense agency that could be used for space-based radar systems for a Golden Dome, said the biggest challenge is missiles that no longer follow predictable paths. 

‘If you go back to your high school physics class, if you understand the angle and trajectory of a bullet, you understand exactly where it’s going to land because it follows a parabola,’ he said. 

‘ICBMs followed parabola trajectories for decades. But a new class of highly maneuverable cruise weapons and hypersonic weapons now don’t,’ he explained. ‘Their endpoint is uncertain. And our defensive systems in the U.S. now have to change to be more robust in order to track that weapon throughout its entire trajectory.’ 

Space-based radar will be the critical element of threats to the homeland in the future, according to Zoiss. 

‘Our challenge is really long-range weapons. You know, it’s weapons progressing large distances that are maneuvering around our current land-based and sea-based radar systems. So, if the weapons maneuver around those systems, that means our current architecture can’t provide fire control ordnance. And, therefore, it has to be moved to space.’ 

The Golden Dome could draw on missile defense missions already in the works, like the National Capital Region Integrated Air Defense System, which is designed to protect Washington, D.C., from incoming threats and employs systems like the Norwegian National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS).

And it could look to other systems already in the works on a smaller scale. The Army is working on a new Iron Dome-like air defense system in Guam known as the Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) Increment 2 system. And it is developing high-powered microwave systems that could knock entire drone swarms out of the sky. 

The Marine Corps is planning to field three mobile air defense systems this year, including a modified Iron Dome launcher. 

Other needs could be over-the-horizon radar, including filling blindspots in the Arctic region for low-flying missiles that hug the earth’s curvature to avoid detection. 

Guetlein said the nation would have to ‘break down the barriers’ between Title 10 and Title 50 of the United States Code, the federal laws that govern the nation’s defense and clandestine operations.

‘Without a doubt, our biggest challenge is going to be organizational behavior and culture to bring all the pieces together,’ Guetlein said.

Much of the funding is expected to be laid out in Trump’s fiscal year 2026 budget request to Congress, which the White House is working on. Even with initial funding, the project could take years to complete, and it won’t be cheap. 

Steven Morani, acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said Wednesday he was working with the private sector to address the ‘formidable’ challenges of the project. 

‘Consistent with protecting the homeland and per President Trump’s executive order, we’re working with the industrial base and supply chain challenges associated with standing up the Golden Dome,’ he said. 

President Trump said Friday he liked the idea of the United States joining the British Commonwealth after a report claimed King Charles III would make an offer. 

‘I love King Charles,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday morning while linking to an article citing a Daily Mail report that said the monarch would secretly offer the U.S. associate membership in the Commonwealth during Trump’s second state visit to Britain. ‘Sounds good to me!’ 

Trump also reposted the same report about the king’s ‘secret’ offer of membership late Saturday morning. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. 

The British Commonwealth, created in 1926, is made up of 56 countries, including Australia and Canada, most of which were originally British colonies. The monarch is the head of the Commonwealth, whose maintenance was a major priority of Queen Elizabeth II. 

Membership is voluntary. 

The U.S. was part of the British Empire before winning independence after the Revolution. 

India was the first country to decide to remain within the Commonwealth after gaining independence in 1947. 

Trump had a friendly relationship with the late queen and always spoke highly of her. 

‘I got to know her very well, and, you know, I got to know her in her ’90s, OK, but she was great,’ Trump told Fox News’ Mark Levin in 2023. ‘This is a woman … 75 years she reigned, and she never made a mistake.’

Trump has also praised Charles and the heir to the throne, Prince William, whom he met with in December in Paris, but he had fewer nice things to say about Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle. 

The president is scheduled to meet with King Charles during a rare second state visit later this year. He met with the late queen and Charles during his first state visit in 2019. 

The Daily Mail said Commonwealth membership was first floated during Trump’s first term, and this time around the hope is that it would ease tensions between the U.S. and Canada as the countries trade tariff threats. 

‘This is being discussed at the highest levels,’ a member of the Royal Commonwealth Society told the Daily Mail. ‘It would be a wonderful move that would symbolize Britain’s close relationship with the U.S.

‘Donald Trump loves Britain and has great respect for the royal family, so we believe he would see the benefits of this. Associate membership could, hopefully, be followed by full membership, making the Commonwealth even more important as a global organization.’ 

Late last month, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer presented Trump with Charles’ invitation for a second state visit while the two politicians were meeting in the Oval Office. 

‘I think that just symbolizes the strength of the relationship between us. This is a very special letter. I think the last state visit was a tremendous success,’ Starmer said. ‘His majesty the king wants to make this even better than that.’ 

Trump responded, ‘The answer is yes. On behalf of our wonderful first lady Melania and myself, the answer is yes, and we look forward to being there and honoring the king and honoring, really, your country. Your country is a fantastic country.’ 

Trump described Charles as ‘beautiful’ and a ‘wonderful man.’ 

‘I’ve gotten to know him very well actually, first term and, now, a second term,’ he added. 

A top former Bush administration lawyer is warning the White House not to begin ignoring court orders amid its standoff over President Donald Trump’s deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act.

‘I worry that there might be some people in the administration who would actually like to defy a judicial order. Which I think would be a terrible mistake,’ John Yoo, Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, told Fox News Digital in an interview on Tuesday.

More than a dozen injunctions have been levied to at least temporarily block Trump policies across the country, including his deportation flights, birthright citizenship reforms and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts. Republican allies of the president have accused ‘activist judges’ of seeking to override the executive in an improper breach of the co-equal branches of government.

Yoo, who previously served as deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice (DOJ) during former President George W. Bush’s first term, said such a fight between the executive and judicial branches could threaten the legal system as a whole.

‘There’s only been one time in our history a president has refused to carry out a judicial order. And that was Abraham Lincoln at the start of the Civil War,’ Yoo said. ‘It’s almost something that really should only happen when the existence of the country is at stake, because if presidents don’t obey judicial orders, then they deprive the judiciary of their primary means for carrying out their decisions.’

‘If the courts can’t render reliable decisions, then our legal system doesn’t function. If our legal system doesn’t function, the country is in really bad shape,’ he added.

The White House has repeatedly said it has not disobeyed any lawful court orders.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued an emergency order on March 15 to halt deportation flights of suspected gang members to El Salvador for a period of 14 days.

The Trump administration has pointed out that the judge’s written order was issued after two planes carrying alleged gang members were already in the air, arguing it was too late to turn the planes around at that point. A third plane that took off after the first two was not carrying any Alien Enemies Act deportees, the administration said. 

‘As I said from the podium and will continue to say, all of the flights that were subject to the written order of the judge took off before the order was pushed in the courtroom. And the president is well within his… Article II power and his authority under the Alien Enemies Act to make these decisions,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. 

‘And we think it’s egregious that a single district judge is trying to tell the President of the United States who he can and cannot deport from our soil, especially when it comes to designated foreign terrorists.’

DOJ lawyers argued that Boasberg’s verbal order to turn the planes around, issued shortly before the written order, is non-enforceable.

Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, said the case was ‘complex,’ but warned judges should be careful not to overstep their authority on matters with coequal branches of government.

‘The judge held a hearing where, apparently, the ACLU presented oral arguments. The judge then issued an oral order where a DOJ lawyer was on the line. But the government was not able to make any arguments. The judge also did not give the government the time to take a timely appeal,’ Blackman told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

‘As a result, a judge is now inquiring why the government did not turn a plane around in international waters. Things are not so simple. Judges are losing sight of the fact that they are a coequal, and not superior, branch of government.’

Yoo also noted the case was complex and said both parties were in uncharted territory, but pointed out that verbal orders have been valid in albeit very different circumstances.

‘That’s playing a little cute, is what appears to have happened,’ he said Tuesday of the administration’s argument on the verbal order. ‘But maybe that’s the case.’

Yoo noted that often judges would make one-word rulings, such as denying motions, which are usually only then found in the written transcript of the proceedings, but he made clear the situation now was vastly different.

‘This is an unprecedented exercise of judicial power, in response to an unprecedented claim of authority by the president,’ Yoo said.  

Boasberg is currently considering whether the Trump administration violated his court order, which the White House denies. A Friday hearing on whether to maintain the ban quickly grew contentious when the judge accused DOJ lawyers, without specifics, of being ‘disrespectful’ in the court filings. The administration said Boasberg was engaging in a ‘judicial fishing expedition,’ according to Reuters.

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s administration’s use of Elon Musk’s DOGE to cut USAID spending is having a deep impact on the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), according to internal U.N. emails shared with Fox News Digital.

In an email sent early Friday morning, president of the U.N. Field Staff Union, Milan Victor Dawoh wrote that the USAID funding cut resulted in ‘approximately $30 million’ having been ‘removed from the extra-budgetary (XB) resources, resulting in a significant reduction in staffing.’ 

Dawoh’s email warns that the U.N. ‘is currently experiencing its worst liquidity crisis since its establishment. The situation is expected to deteriorate further before any improvement occurs.’

Dawoh said that UNDSS will lose 100 employees and that its presence will be eliminated in 35 to 45 countries, while noting that ‘regional hubs’ will be established ‘in the remaining 120 countries where UNDSS will maintain a presence.’ 

‘The [under secretary-general of UNDSS] emphasized that UNDSS is not a protection agency but a risk management and analysis entity,’ the email reads. ‘This distinction should be clearly communicated to staff.’

The Department’s website describes the UNDSS as ‘a global leader in security risk management principles’ and explains that it ‘enables the safe and effective delivery of United Nations programmes and activities in the most complex and challenging environments, while maximizing resources.’ 

Fox News Digital asked Dawoh about the authenticity of the email and what portion of the UNDSS budget was paid for by USAID, but received no response.

Earlier this month, António Guterres warned about cuts to U.S. spending at the U.N., stating that ‘going through with recent funding cuts will make the world less healthy, less safe, and less prosperous.’

Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, told Fox News Digital that UNDSS only received about $20 million from USAID last year. ‘USAID informed us that some of this funding has been terminated; other projects will continue with USAID support,’ he said. 

Whereas Dawoh’s email indicates that the UNDSS’s loss of funding is related to a cut in extra-budgetary resources, Haq stated that ‘extra budgetary funding from USAID is a relatively small proportion of the Department’s budget, most of which comes from the U.N. regular budget, a U.N. cost-sharing mechanism, and the peace support account.’

According to Haq, UNDSS has 2,250 personnel around the globe, ‘supporting the security of — and enabling operations by — 180,000 U.N. personnel.’ Haq added that ‘the majority of the Department’s workforce is in the field, with a much smaller percentage in New York HQ. U.N. personnel serving in the world’s most dangerous places deserve effective security as they work to save lives.’

Haq said that an email sent to multiple U.N. mailing groups on Mar. 19 mentioning the funding-related closure of one staff entrance to U.N. headquarters was unrelated to UNDSS. ‘Funding for the UNHQ premises does not come from USAID,’ Haq explained. He said that the temporary closure is the result, instead, of some member states’ non-payment of dues.

A U.N. source speaking on condition of anonymity said that in the midst of financial uncertainty, U.N. staff ‘are very fearful of their immediate future.’ The source said that concerns include the ability to collect pensions and access their United Nations Federal Credit Union accounts. The source indicated that because ‘most of these staffers that are losing their jobs are . . . on G-4 visas,’ the change may even impact their ability to stay in the U.S. 

‘This is an implication beyond just losing the jobs of individuals. It impacts families, and this could be massive in the coming weeks with new cuts that will impact U.N. agencies.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for insight on how employees would be impacted by layoffs but received no response.

Calls for increased U.N. reform come a month after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for a review of funding to the U.N. At the time, Trump said that the world body ‘has tremendous potential’ but is ‘not being well run.’ 

President Donald Trump revoked the security clearances of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Liz Cheney and several other opponents who either severely criticized or acted against him.

The White House released a memo on Friday that read: ‘I have determined that it is no longer in the national interest for the following individuals to access classified information:  Antony Blinken, Jacob Sullivan, Lisa Monaco, Mark Zaid, Norman Eisen, Letitia James, Alvin Bragg, Andrew Weissmann, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Cheney, Kamala Harris, Adam Kinzinger, Fiona Hill, Alexander Vindman, Joseph R. Biden Jr., and any other member of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s family.’

Earlier this month, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced that she had revoked the security clearances of several people listed in Trump’s memo and blocked them from having access to classified information. She said ‘the 51 signers of the Hunter Biden ‘disinformation’ letter’ also had their clearances rescinded.

‘The President’s Daily Brief is no longer being provided to former President Biden.’

In addition to having their security clearances revoked, the individuals listed in Trump’s memorandum have had their ‘unescorted access to secure United States Government facilities’ rescinded.

Several people listed in Trump’s memo mostly dismissed it in social media posts reacting to the news. Both Zaid and Eisen said it was ‘like the third time’ their security clearances were revoked. Kinzinger posted a video saying that he ‘retired a year ago from the military’ and doesn’t have a clearance before calling the president a ‘dumba–.’

The security clearance memo comes just days after Trump announced that he was stripping Hunter and Ashley Biden of their Secret Service protection.

‘Hunter Biden has had Secret Service protection for an extended period of time, all paid for by the United States Taxpayer. There are as many as 18 people on this Detail, which is ridiculous!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘Please be advised that, effective immediately, Hunter Biden will no longer receive Secret Service protection. Likewise, Ashley Biden who has 13 agents will be taken off the list.’

While under federal law, former presidents and their spouses receive life-long Secret Service protection, but that protection ends for members of their immediate family when they leave office. According to the Associated Press, both Trump and Biden extended protection for their children before leaving office.

Dozens of Tesla vehicles were damaged at a dealership in Ontario, Canada, Hamilton Police Service (HPS) confirmed to Fox News Digital. Authorities said that the incident occurred overnight on March 18, and that the ‘damage included deep scratches and punctured tires.’

HPS told Fox News Digital that officers are still working on getting footage from the Tesla vehicles as, ‘some vehicle camera systems were recording during the mischief incident.’ They were also able to obtain ‘limited’ footage from the area. As of Saturday, it was still too early in the investigation for HPS to determine a motive or how many people were involved. HPS said they do not have any suspects.

The night before this incident, police in London, Ontario, were reportedly called to the scene of a fire that is allegedly being investigated as suspicious. On March 17, a Tesla was set on fire, causing an estimated $140,000 in damage, London Police Service said in a press release.

Vandalism and attacks on Tesla vehicles and dealerships have been on the rise over the last few weeks. Many of the attacks appear to be politically motivated acts against Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk due to his work with the Department of Government Efficiency.

The Trump administration began cracking down on Tesla vandals earlier this week, with Attorney General Pam Bondi saying the string of attacks was ‘nothing short of domestic terrorism.’ She vowed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would ‘continue investigations that impose severe consequences on those involved in these attacks.’

On Thursday, the DOJ announced that three individuals were charged in connection with the ‘violent destruction of Tesla properties.’ The defendants face charges that carry a minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, but could face up to 20 years behind bars.

‘The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,’ Bondi said in a DOJ statement. ‘Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.’

On Friday, President Donald Trump floated the idea of Tesla vandals serving time in El Salvadorian prisons in a post on Truth Social.

‘I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20 year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla,’ Trump wrote. ‘Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!’

Since January 2025, Tesla vehicles have been targeted in at least nine states, according to the FBI. The bureau has urged the public to ‘exercise vigilance’ near Tesla properties.

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

As top U.S. officials prepare for a meeting with a Russian delegation in Saudia Arabia Sunday, questions have mounted over how the Trump administration will push Moscow to extend a preliminary ceasefire. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin this week agreed to temporarily halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which includes Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who will both travel to Jeddah for the negotiations, said the next step will be to secure a ceasefire over the Black Sea.

Moscow had previously agreed to a similar deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in 2022, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which attempted to secure Ukrainian exports of agricultural products to control global prices, but Putin pulled out of the agreement in 2023. 

Security experts remain unconvinced that Putin can be trusted this time around.

But there is another issue that apparently will be on the negotiating table in the Middle East — Ukraine’s nuclear power. 

As the president’s focus on a mineral deal with Ukraine appears to have diminished, he has turned his interest to a new business venture, U.S. ‘ownership’ of Kyiv’s ‘electrical supply and nuclear power plants.’

‘American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure,’ a joint statement released by Rubio and Waltz said after Trump’s phone call Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

When asked by Fox News Digital how Putin, who has made his interest in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant clear, will respond to Trump’s new ambitions, Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and author of ‘Putin’s Playbook,’ said she does not think it will go over well. 

‘Putin almost certainly is not in favor of this idea and will attempt to sabotage such a deal,’ said Koffler, who briefed NATO officials of Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine years before the 2022 invasion. ‘Moreover, Zelenskyy is unlikely to sign off on such a deal also.

‘Zelenskyy would likely agree to cede control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the U.S., which is currently under Russian control. The Russians will not voluntarily give up control of Zaporizhzhia. If someone tries to take it over by force, they will fight to the bitter end.’

It is unclear when Trump’s interest in acquiring Ukraine’s energy infrastructure began, though it appears to tie into his previous assertions that Ukraine will be better protected if it has American workers and businesses operating within its borders. 

The basis of this argument has been debated because there were, and remain, American companies operating in Ukraine during Russia’s invasion. The debate contributed to an Oval Office blowup between Trump and Zelenskyy last month. 

Koffler said Putin could view a U.S. takeover of Kyiv’s four nuclear power plants as a ‘backdoor way’ for the U.S. to extend some security guarantees for Ukraine and a ‘clever way of controlling Ukraine’s nuclear capability, which the Russians believe can be militarized.’

‘It would be viewed as a threat to Russia,’ Koffler said.

When asked how U.S. ownership of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure could affect negotiations, former CIA Moscow station chief Dan Hoffman told Fox News Digital he is not convinced it will have much of an effect on actually securing peace. 

‘Show me the deal. We don’t have a deal yet. We have a ceasefire that’s been broken on energy infrastructure,’ Hoffman pointed out. He noted that even after Putin agreed to stop attacking Ukraine’s infrastructure on Tuesday, the following morning a drone strike hit a railway power system in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which led to civilian power outages. 

‘It’s just another discussion point. There are so many other issues that are of far greater importance. What Putin would probably do for his negotiating strategy is to say, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ll let you do that United States of America, but I want this in return’. It’s always going to be that way,’ Hoffman added, reflecting on his own negotiations with Russian counterparts during his time with the CIA.

‘He wants Ukraine. He wants to topple the government. That’s his objective,’ Hoffman added. ‘Whatever deals he agrees to in the short term, what he really wants to do is destroy Ukraine’s ability to deter Russia in the future and to give Russia maximum advantage. 

‘Right now, he can gain through negotiation what he can’t gain on the battlefield.’ 

While a number of issues will be discussed, the former CIA Moscow station chief said the real key in accomplishing any kind of ceasefire will need to be an authentic signal from Putin that he actually wants the war to end.

‘The big question that John Ratcliffe has to answer is explain to me why Putin wants a ceasefire. I would argue he doesn’t,’ Hoffman said in reference to the director of the CIA. ‘There is zero indication that he wants one.

‘If he wanted to stop the war and stop the killing of his own people and stop spilling so much blood and treasure, he would have stopped it,’ Hoffman argued.

Ultimately, Hoffman said, when looking at how most major wars have concluded, history suggests the war in Ukraine can only truly end on the battlefield.

‘One side loses, one side wins, or both sides don’t have the means to fight anymore,’ Hoffman said. ‘That’s how the wars end.’

President Donald Trump said he’s not interested in showing ‘anybody’ plans for how the U.S. would navigate a conflict with China after a New York Times report that SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s meeting at the Pentagon Friday included details about contingency plans for any war with Beijing. 

Trump told reporters Friday that Musk met with Pentagon officials to discuss initiatives relating to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that Musk is spearheading. 

‘We don’t want to have a potential war with China,’ Trump said at the Oval Office Friday. ‘But I can tell you if we did, we’re very well-equipped to handle it. But I don’t want to show that to anybody. But, certainly, you wouldn’t show it to a businessman who is helping us so much. He’s a great patriot. He’s taken a big price for helping us cut costs, and he’s doing a great job.’

Musk and China could be a conflict of interest, given Tesla’s business dealings with China and SpaceX’s relationship with the Pentagon on military space capabilities. And an adversary like China learning details about the U.S. military’s war plans could put national security at risk and undermine U.S. forces. 

But Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Musk’s meeting at the Pentagon centered around DOGE, innovation and other ways to advance efficiency, not China. 

‘There was no war plans. There was no Chinese war plans,’ Hegseth said at the White House Friday. ‘There was no secret plans. That’s not what we were doing at the Pentagon.’ 

Hegseth also announced plans Thursday to cancel more than $580 million in Department of Defense contracts, following recommendations from DOGE. 

The New York Times reported Thursday evening that Musk’s Pentagon briefing would involve a presentation with 20–30 slides on how the U.S. would combat China, various Chinese targets to strike and how the Pentagon would share these plans with Trump. 

The Times also reported the meeting would take place in the so-called Tank, a secure conference room reserved for the joint chiefs, senior staff and visiting combatant commanders. 

The Times report said details on China could have been shared with Musk amid his efforts leading DOGE and possible cuts to the Department of Defense. 

The White House referred Fox News Digital to Trump’s remarks when asked for comment about the nature of Musk’s briefing. 

Trump and Hegseth pushed back on the report Thursday, with Trump describing the report as ‘completely untrue.’ Hegseth also said in a post on X the meeting with Musk would primarily touch on innovation. 

In response to Hegseth’s post, Musk responded, ‘Exactly. Also, I’ve been to the Pentagon many times over many years. Not my first time in the building.’ 

Musk also said in a separate post he looks ‘forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT.’  

‘They will be found,’ he said. 

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has ‘no business’ conducting affairs at the Pentagon, amid reports Musk would receive secret information from top military officials Friday about military contingency plans should a war break out with China.  

While The New York Times reported that Musk was set to receive military plans about any potential China conflict, the Pentagon and White House pushed back and said Musk’s briefing wouldn’t cover China. 

‘Elon Musk is an unelected, self-interested billionaire with no business anywhere near the Pentagon,’ Gillibrand said in an X post Friday morning with a photo of the Times story, just after Musk arrived at the Pentagon. Gillibrand is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. 

The possibility of Musk receiving information on China raises a possible conflict of interest, given the fact that Musk has financial interests in China stemming from Tesla, and SpaceX is working with the U.S. federal government on military space capabilities. 

However, the Trump administration swiftly pushed back on the Times’ reporting, and Trump issued a post on social media discrediting the story as ‘completely untrue.’

‘They said, incorrectly, that Elon Musk is going to the Pentagon tomorrow to be briefed on any potential ‘war with China.’ How ridiculous?’ China will not even be mentioned or discussed,’ President Donald Trump said in a Thursday night Truth Social post. 

A former Obama administration official also sounded the alarm about Musk’s visit to the Pentagon. 

Xochitl Hinojosa, who previously served as a spokesperson for former Attorney General Eric Holder and communications director for the Democratic National Committee, said that career officials must have disclosed the information about the meeting to the press because they were concerned about what would be shared with Musk. 

‘What is happening here, and everyone needs to be scared, is Pentagon officials are sounding the alarm,’ Hinojosa said in an interview with CNN Thursday night. ‘This doesn’t just happen on its own. This has happened because career officials in the Pentagon are terrified. And they believe there is a conflict of interest. That is why it is in the New York Times. Because I am sure they took it to the senior most people within the White House and within the Pentagon and they didn’t do anything about it.’

Hinojosa said that during her time at the Justice Department, career officials would sound the alarm if they became aware of any unethical behavior at the agency. 

‘That is exactly what is happening here,’ Hinojosa said. 

Hinojosa could not be reached for comment by Fox News Digital. 

The New York Times published a story Thursday evening claiming that Musk’s visit to the Pentagon would involve discussing plans in the event of a potential war with China. Specifically, the Times reported that the briefing involved a presentation with 20 to 30 slides on how the U.S. would combat China, various Chinese targets to strike and how the Pentagon would share these plans with Trump. 

The Times also reported the meeting would occur in the so-called Tank, a secure conference room that the Joint Chiefs utilize for meetings, along with other senior staff and visiting combatant commanders. 

Meanwhile, the Times report also noted that Musk may have needed to know information about plans for China as he eyes cutting the Pentagon’s budget amid his efforts leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

Pentagon war plans are highly confidential for operational security purposes. Should details regarding the U.S. military’s strategy to combat an enemy be shared or leaked in any way, it would jeopardize U.S. forces and undermine the success of the military campaign.

Hegseth also weighed in on the matter, and said the meeting with Musk would primarily center around innovation. 

‘But the fake news delivers again — this is NOT a meeting about ‘top secret China war plans.’ It’s an informal meeting about innovation, efficiencies & smarter production. Gonna be great!’ Hegseth said in a post on X late Thursday evening. 

In response to Hegseth’s post, Musk responded: ‘Exactly. Also, I’ve been to the Pentagon many times over many years. Not my first time in the building.’ 

Musk also said in a separate post he looks ‘forward to the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT. 

‘They will be found,’ he said. 

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

President Donald Trump called the U.S.-Canada border an ‘artificial line’ while also declining to say whether Canada would lean right or left if it were to become a state. 

Trump’s Friday comments were made during a press conference in the Oval Office amid controversy over the president speaking of Canada as the ’51st state.’

Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked the president whether he would be ‘concerned’ about whether Canada ‘would be a very, very blue state.’

‘It’s just an artificial line that was drawn in the sand or in the ice,’ Trump said. ‘You add that to this country – what a beautiful landmass. The most beautiful landmass anywhere in the world. And it was just cut off for whatever reason.’

‘It would be great,’ he continued. 

Trump circumvented the question, saying, ‘I don’t care who winds up there.’

‘Frankly, [it] probably would do better with the liberal than the conservative, if you want to know the truth,’ he responded. 

Trump referenced former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the exchange, whom he has notably called ‘Governor Trudeau.’

Trudeau resigned as leader of the Liberal Party and the country’s prime minister in early January, following increased pressure and criticism from within his own party and threats levied by then-President-Elect Trump. 

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney won the Liberal leadership earlier this month, replacing Trudeau. 

‘I think Canada is a place like a lot of other places – if you have a good candidate, the candidate’s going to win,’ Trump said. 

Canadian MP Charlie Angus recently claimed the Trump administration had committed an ‘act of war’ over Trump repeatedly referring to Canada as the U.S.’ ’51st state’ and for leveling tariffs on the nation. 

‘Well, I think Marco Rubio probably needs to be sent back to school, because when you say that someone doesn’t have a right to have a country, that’s an act of war. When you rip up, arbitrarily, trade agreements and threaten and say you’re going to break a country, that’s an act of war. And Canadians have responded in kind,’ Angus said during an interview earlier this week with the MeidasTouch Network.

Trump leveled a 25% tariff on all imports of steel and aluminum from other nations in early March, while Canada specifically is set to face a 25% tax on all imported goods beginning April 2. The tariffs have sparked boycotts of U.S. goods. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.