Trump invokes Defense Production Act to boost weapons manufacturing as Iran war intensifies concerns

President Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to address constraints in the production of munitions, according to a presidential memo released on Tuesday. The war against Iran has highlighted concerns over munitions stockpiles and rates of production. 

The memo delegates the Defense Secretary to use the Defense Production Act, which can be used to jumpstart production of key items. The memo says the mechanism is warranted because fragile supply chains and production bottlenecks may “impair the ability” for the U.S. to expand the availability of munitions, missiles and equipment required for the national defense. 

The memo — which says it is scheduled to be formally published on Wednesday — invoked a section of the 1950 law that allows the government and private firms to forge “voluntary agreements and plans of action to help provide for the national defense.”

“Sometimes we need the collective wisdom of all the assembled companies to collaborate and solve our problems for us and we want them to provide their best advice from the industrial side,” Michael Cadenazzi, the assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, said about the Defense Production Act at a Center for New American Security event on Tuesday. 

Cadenazzi said he has been working since around September to launch a voluntary agreement through the Defense Production Act that can bring companies from around the defense industry into conversations over how to address “nasty issues in the supply chain or industrial base.”  

CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment.

Concerns over the industrial base are not new. Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it became clear both the U.S. and Europe needed to produce more artillery. The conflict with Iran has drawn attention to the long-range missiles that could be needed in a conflict with China. 

An April analysis by the Center of Strategic and International Studies found the U.S. may have expended more than half of its inventory of four critical munitions, including Tomahawk missiles, during the campaign against Iran. 

In an appearance Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejected the idea that the U.S. is facing a “crisis” with its munitions stockpile, despite testifying in April it could take “months to years” to replenish what has been used against Iran. 

“That is a manufactured story that the media wants to peddle and ultimately our stockpiles are great, and they’re only getting stronger,” Hegseth told Brennan. 

Hegseth was on Capitol Hill on Tuesday for meetings with senators on funding, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told reporters. 

“They are running short of funding they need in order to acquire the weapons and messages and things like that that they need to protect the nation,” Cornyn said. He said he would support the Pentagon’s bid for more funding even if it might be precarious because of opposition from some Democrats. 

The administration is making the case for additional funding to bring the Defense Department’s budget to a record $1.5 trillion through reconciliation, a process that would allow the Senate to approve new spending without Democratic votes. Republican leaders of the appropriations committee have cast doubt on whether a third reconciliation bill is possible.