President Trump’s plan for new nuclear-powered battleships will take longer and cost a lot more than initially thought, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Trump announced the plan back in December, saying they would be “the fastest, the biggest and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built.” They have been dubbed “Trump-class” battleships.
The first was initially said to cost around $15 billion — but the CBO found it will likely cost more than $23 billion, bringing the price tag for the whole fleet of 14 ships to $275 billion. U.S. shipyards also may not have the capacity to build such ships, the report found. It may also take eight years or longer to build the first; Trump had originally said at least two would be finished by the end of his term.
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