Trump pledges to 'rebuild' nuclear arsenal

President Trump pledged during his State of the Union address tonight to support new investments to overhaul the U.S. nuclear arsenal. 

"As part of our defense, we must modernize and rebuild our nuclear arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression by any other nation or anyone else,” he said. "Perhaps someday in the future there will be a magical moment when the countries of the world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons.  Unfortunately, we are not there yet, sadly.” 

The Congressional Budget Office has said the overhaul could cost $1.2 trillion. 

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is scheduled to release its Nuclear Posture Review on Friday. 

Trump also echoed the focus of the new National Defense Strategy, which is centered around "great power competition" against China and Russia. 

"Around the world, we face rogue regimes, terrorist groups, and rivals like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economy, and our values," he said. "In confronting these dangers, we know that weakness is the surest path to conflict, and unmatched power is the surest means of our defense."