Elizabeth Warren partners with Mike Lee in push to curb defense CEO payouts
Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) adn Mike Lee (R-UT) have called on the Pentagon to make President Trump’s restrictions on stock buybacks for defense contractors permanent. They advocate for supporting the Prioritizing the warfighter in defense Contracting Act, which would institutionalize measures from Trump’s executive order, such as incentivizing timely delivery and production improvements over short-term profits, and capping executive salaries at underperforming contractors where possible. The legislation aims to ensure taxpayer funds are used effectively, with the senators highlighting that billions-possibly trillions-of dollars are being handed to defense firms, often without fulfilling contractual obligations. they emphasize that defense contractors have reduced buybacks and increased capital spending, indicating some positive changes, but warn that the military-industrial complex opposes this bipartisan initiative, risking continued profit at taxpayers’ expense. The legislation’s key provisions are included in the Senate’s fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, and Warren has previously criticized military contractors for prioritizing Wall Street over national security.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Mike Lee (R-UT) urged the Pentagon on Monday to make President Donald Trump’s restrictions on stock buybacks for defense contractors permanent.
The lawmakers urged War Secretary Pete Hegseth to support their Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting Act, which would codify key provisions of Trump’s January executive order, such as tying executive incentives to on-time delivery and production improvements rather than short-term financial metrics, according to Fox News. A keystone of the executive action also allows the Pentagon, where law permits, to cap the base salaries of executives at underperforming contractors.
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“The Pentagon is handing companies billions – and now potentially trillions – of taxpayer dollars,” the senators wrote. “Congress and the Administration must work together to ensure they fulfill their contractual obligations and enhance national security.”
Key elements of the legislation were included in the Senate’s version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.
Warren said earlier this year that it is “time to stop these contractors from putting Wall Street over our national security.”
“Giant military contractors are cheating our government out of billions in taxpayer dollars and lining their executives’ and shareholders’ pockets instead of investing in our national defense,” she said in July.
She and Lee have argued that Trump’s executive order is already working and should be made permanent.
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Their staff reviewed recent earnings calls and financial reports from the top 20 publicly traded U.S. defense contractors, and found that the companies cut buybacks and dividends by $2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, compared with the same period a year earlier, while capital spending rose by $1.2 billion.
“The military industrial complex is fighting aggressively against this bipartisan legislation that is a Trump Administration priority,” the lawmakers wrote. “If they succeed in stripping this amendment from the NDAA, defense contractors will continue to profit at taxpayers’ expense while failing to provide for the common defense.”
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