President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at reshaping defense contracting by restricting stock buybacks, corporate distributions and executive compensation practices that the administration says undermine military readiness.
According to a White House fact sheet published Wednesday, the EO aims to ensure that defense companies focus on innovation, production capacity and on-time delivery of capabilities to meet the needs of U.S. warfighters.
The executive order came roughly two months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, a previous Wash100 awardee, unveiled sweeping Pentagon acquisition reforms designed to speed up capability delivery, boost commercial technology use and hold industry accountable for performance.
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What Does the EO Require of the Secretary of War?
Under the EO, the secretary of war should identify defense contractors that fail to invest their own capital in production capacity, underperform, or maintain inadequate production speed while spending heavily on stock buybacks or other corporate payouts. The policy provides identified vendors with the opportunity to submit remediation plans or coordinate with the secretary to address performance issues.
If those efforts fail or disputes remain unresolved, the secretary is authorized to pursue enforcement actions, including exercising authorities under the Defense Production Act, amending existing contracts, or using other contract enforcement mechanisms.
Future contracts must allow the secretary to cap executive base salaries at current levels when vendors experience such issues and examine executive incentives to ensure they are directly linked to efforts that prioritize warfighters’ needs.
The EO also requires the secretary to consider denying new advocacy cases or ceasing advocacy efforts for underperforming companies competing for foreign military or direct commercial sales.
What Is the Role of the SEC Under the Executive Order?
Under the policy, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission should reassess safe-harbor protections for defense contractors identified as underperforming.
What Did Trump Say About Executive Pay & Stock Buybacks?
Trump said his administration will cap executive compensation at $5 million and prohibit defense contractors from conducting stock buybacks or paying dividends to shareholders, according to Federal News Network.
“All United State Defense Contractors, and the Defense Industry as a whole, BEWARE: While we make the best Military Equipment in the World (No other Country is even close!), Defense Contractors are currently issuing massive Dividends to their Shareholders and massive Stock Buybacks, at the expense and detriment of investing in Plants and Equipment. This situation will no longer be allowed or tolerated!” Trump said Wednesday in a post on Truth Social.
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