Defense and national security

Executive Order 13906: Amending Executive Order 13803Reviving the National Space Council

President: Donald J. Trump

EO 13906 amended EO 13803, changing the National Space Council’s membership and deleting a quarterly reporting requirement from its earlier charter.

Status: Revoked.

Is Executive Order 13906 still in effect? No. Revoked and superseded by EO 14056 on December 1, 2021.

What does Executive Order 13906 do?

It did not create a new council or a space-law appropriation. EO 14056 replaced both the 2017 charter and the 2020 amendment in December 2021, establishing a revised council structure.

Evidence review, September 23, 2026: The Federal Register index records the later relationship: Revoked by EO 14056. The linked successor text should be read for the exact scope.

Administration position: EO 13906 amended an existing executive charter. EO 14056 §7(d) expressly superseded and revoked both underlying EO 13803 and its 2020 amendment; it continued a National Space Council under new terms.

The amendment changed governance, not launch licensing or an appropriation. It replaced the membership list and removed one reporting sentence. Comparing the two signed texts shows why “reporting ended” would be too broad: the revoked sentence concerned the chair’s quarterly report, while section 8 of the 2017 order still called for a Council report within a year and annually thereafter. That distinction lasted only under the old charter, which EO 14056 expressly revoked in 2021. EO 13906, sections 1–2; EO 13803, sections 4(c) and 8; EO 14056, section 7(d).

SignedFebruary 13, 2020
Original directionOperate under the amended membership and reporting terms of EO 13803
Later evidenceEO 14056 §7(d) expressly superseded and revoked both the 2017 Space Council order and this 2020 amendment.
Review dateSeptember 26, 2026
National Space Council charter chain showing EO 13906 removing quarterly chair reports before its 2021 revocation
The original diagram distinguishes the 2020 amendment from the 2021 replacement and 2025 revocation. EO 13906, section 2; EO 14056, section 7(d); EO 14369, section 4(a).

Before and after

Before the order

EO 13803 had revived the National Space Council in 2017 with membership and reporting provisions that the 2020 order modified.

After the order

EO 14056 §7(d) expressly superseded and revoked both the 2017 Space Council order and this 2020 amendment.

EO 13906 amended an existing executive charter. EO 14056 §7(d) expressly superseded and revoked both underlying EO 13803 and its 2020 amendment; it continued a National Space Council under new terms.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
National Space Council and its chairUse the replacement membership list, including the Energy Secretary and the President’s economic and domestic policy assistants.Section 1: amends the existing charter; no separate implementation or appointment deadline.
Vice President / Council chairThe amendment removes the chair’s quarterly-report requirement, rather than assigning a new quarterly report.Section 2: revokes the first sentence of EO 13803 section 4(c). It does not delete the separate annual Council-report requirement in section 8.

What happened next

EO 13906 signed.

The Federal Register published the amendment, one week after signing. Its text removed the quarterly chair-report sentence, not the annual Council-report section. Signed text.

EO 14056 §7(d) expressly superseded and revoked both the 2017 Space Council order and this 2020 amendment.

Guide checked against signed text and cited later primary evidence.