Defense world braces for Trump EO

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent late Tuesday asking whether he stands by his comments in October about limiting defense contractor stock buybacks. The two Democrats also questioned whether Bessent would support inclusion of that sort of language in national security contracts.

“Americans deserve a defense industry that prioritizes innovation and competition to help the U.S. military protect Americans, rather than one focused on shoveling more money out the door for shareholders and executives,” the Democrats wrote. The two added they “look forward to a potential partnership” with the Trump administration on the issue.

The NDAA includes language to overhaul the Pentagon’s onerous approach to buying weapons and encourages the use of faster-moving contracting tools to work with smaller companies.

Those changes, backers say, are provisions that could ultimately help improve the performance of defense businesses broadly, including the on-time and on-budget delivery of weapon systems.

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