President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to force US defense companies to rapidly produce more weaponry, as his administration presses lawmakers to pass $350 billion in additional defense spending to replenish stockpiles depleted during the Iran war.
Trump quietly invoked the 1950s-era law last week, according to a memo filed in the Federal Register on Tuesday. The law gives the president broad authority to expand and expedite the supply of materials, including ordering private companies to prioritize federal government orders. It also allows companies to collaborate in ways that could otherwise be seen as collusion.
“I hereby find that conditions exist which may pose a direct threat to the national defense or its preparedness programs,” Trump wrote in a June 11 memo to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Production constraints and supply chain concerns “may impair the ability of the United States to produce, sustain, and expand the availability of munitions, missiles, and equipment required for the national defense.”
The $350 Billion Push
Hegseth was on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, meeting with Senate Republicans about a $350 billion reconciliation package for additional Defense Department funding specifically to replenish munitions. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the Pentagon is “running short of funding they need in order to acquire the weapons and missiles and things like that that they need to protect the nation.”
The defense spending package could pass without requiring votes from Democrats, according to a source with direct knowledge of Hegseth’s discussions. However, Democrats haven’t ruled out supporting a supplemental funding package but are reluctant to do so while the Iran war remains unresolved and without a thorough briefing from Trump administration officials.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, the top Democrat tasked with appropriating funds for the Pentagon, said: “As long as we are at war with Iran, I will not allow a supplemental to serve as the de facto authorization for the war.”
Stockpile Concerns
Top administration officials have been concerned about depleting stockpiles for months. In March, just days into the war with Iran, NBC News reported that Trump administration officials had discussed with lawmakers the idea of invoking the Defense Production Act to accelerate munitions production.
Publicly, the White House has insisted there are plenty of weapons. “We have unlimited middle and upper ammunition, which is really what we’re using in this war,” Trump told reporters at the time. Hegseth has also denied there is a munitions shortage. “Our stockpiles are strong and they will only get stronger in the future,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Trump was expected to meet with defense industry leaders about the depleting stockpile last Friday, but the meeting was postponed due to negotiations between the US and Iran to end the war.
The Iran Situation
The US and Iran have agreed to a memorandum of understanding to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz while the two countries negotiate a broader deal over 60 days. Trump has said details will be public after a signing ceremony Friday.
However, since the agreement was reached Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has fired multiple drones toward commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. A US official said the US military has been shooting down the drones before they could threaten commercial ships or US military vessels in the region.
The Bottom Line
President Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to force US defense companies to accelerate munitions production, citing national security concerns over depleted stockpiles from the Iran war. The administration is also pressing Congress to pass $350 billion in additional defense spending. The US has reached a preliminary agreement with Iran to end the war, but Iran’s Revolutionary Guard continues to fire drones at commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
