Executive Order 14391: Adjusting Certain Delegations Under the Defense Production Act

What does Executive Order 14391 do?

EO 14427 amended EO 13603 again in September 2026, expressly referring to its amendment by EO 14391 and assigning energy functions to Interior and Energy.

Reading the operative provisions of Executive Order 14391

EO 14391 changes specified delegations of authority under the Defense Production Act, which lets the President prioritize contracts and allocate materials when statutory national-defense findings are met. The Federal Register text of EO 14391 amends the earlier national-defense resources order. It reallocates decision-making among executive officials; it does not itself issue a priority rating to a particular company or order a specific allocation.

DPA authorities have different purposes and criteria. Priority-rated contracts can require suppliers to accept and fulfill certain orders before lower-priority work, while allocation authority can direct distribution of scarce materials. Agencies must document the national-defense basis, identify the delegated official and follow the procedural rules. A delegation tells officials who may act; it does not eliminate the statutory limits on when the authority can be used.

EO 14427 later adjusted parts of the same delegation structure, so the orders must be read together for current responsibilities. The later action amended the framework without making EO 14391 irrelevant in every respect. Companies should check the current delegation and any agency-specific rule before treating an order as a priority-rated contract. The practical effect depends on a separate agency determination and the text of the contract or allocation order.