President Donald Trump has turned to one of the most powerful tools in the executive branch’s arsenal, the Defense Production Act, to accelerate US weapon production. The move is aimed at strengthening the domestic defense industrial base at a time when geopolitical tensions are stretching American stockpiles thin.
The DPA, originally passed in 1950 during the Korean War, gives the president authority to direct private industry to prioritize government contracts, expand production capacity, and secure critical supply chains.
What Trump actually did
On May 23, 2025, Trump issued a memorandum waiving certain statutory requirements under Section 303 of the Defense Production Act for both munitions and critical minerals, clearing regulatory hurdles slowing down domestic production of bullets, bombs, and the raw materials needed to make them.
Previous DPA invocations dating back to March 2025 targeted critical minerals. By April 2026, the scope expanded further to include energy production.
