Senate minority leader criticizes Trump’s proposed 'Golden Fleet' battleships as costly ‘vanity’ project

Claims president is more interested in attaching his name to exp military programs than addressing domestic concerns

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday criticised President Donald Trump’s proposed new class of battleships, accusing him of prioritising a costly personal project over the economic struggles facing American families.

"While American families can't even keep their heads above water, Donald Trump is spending his time building himself a 'Golden Fleet' of battleships the Navy doesn't want," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

His remarks came after a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis estimated that Trump’s proposed new class of battleships, intended to form the backbone of the Navy’s “Golden Fleet,” could cost $275 billion.

The CBO report said the first vessel in the proposed class, the USS Defiant, is projected to cost $23.4 billion to construct, while each additional ship could cost $18 billion. The plan envisions 15 battleships.

Trump’s latest waste of time and money:

$275 BILLION in taxpayer dollars for a “golden fleet” of Navy battleships with his name on them.

Not a single penny to lower costs for the American people.

Plenty to serve Trump’s egomania and narcissism.https://t.co/gSg32UbLGT

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 6, 2026

Schumer argued that the proposed fleet reflected what he called another example of Trump’s “vanity projects,” claiming the president was more interested in attaching his name to expensive military programs than addressing domestic concerns.

“Having his name on a bunch of battleships, expensive battleships, is all he cares about,” Schumer said, adding that Trump was seeking to build “15 Trump-class battleships” as part of the initiative.

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The senator also questioned the cost of the plan, saying Trump was prioritising a massive defence expenditure while Americans faced rising costs.

“He’d rather feed his own ego than feed the American people by putting his name on a $275 billion 15-battleship outlay,” he added.