President Trump Signs Two Executive Orders on Quantum Computing and Accelerated Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration

On June 22, 2026, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders related to quantum technology and federal technology and cybersecurity policy: Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation (the “Quantum Innovation Order”) and a companion order, Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks (the “PQC Order”). The first launches a national effort to build a powerful quantum computer and to expand the US quantum ecosystem; the second accelerates the federal government’s migration to post-quantum cryptography (“PQC”).

Background

Quantum technologies have moved steadily from the laboratory toward commercial viability, and the federal government has treated them as a strategic priority for nearly a decade. As we have discussed in previous Legal Updates, quantum computing presents both transformational opportunities and significant risk—most notably the prospect that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could break the public-key cryptography that secures much of today’s digital infrastructure. We have examined those risks, opportunities, and challenges in detail, and have outlined a risk-mindset approach that organizations can use to prepare for the quantum era, including migration to post-quantum cryptography.

The federal framework traces back to the 2018 National Quantum Initiative Act, and the Biden Administration’s National Security Memorandum 10 established a government-wide target of 2035 for migration to PQC. The two new orders build on that foundation while compressing the timeline and broadening the government’s role in financing and standing up the domestic quantum industry. That financing role follows recent steps to invest directly in the sector: last month, the Department of Commerce announced letters of intent to take equity stakes in nine leading US quantum companies, amounting to a roughly $2 billion investment. The Administration also frames quantum as the next front in an intensifying technology competition with adversarial nations—an arena in which the United States has already imposed export controls on quantum and other advanced technologies in concert with international partners.

The Quantum Innovation Order

The Quantum Innovation Order directs the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology to update the National Quantum Strategy, and to lead a national effort to develop the first quantum computer powerful enough to enable scientific discovery and accelerate commercial applications. According to the accompanying White House fact sheet, this effort includes evaluating quantum computing capabilities, assessing the resources needed to build such a system, and developing its specifications. The work will be coordinated across the Departments of Energy, War, and Commerce and the Intelligence Community, together with US industry and research leaders.

The Order also directs the Secretaries of Commerce, War, and Energy and the NASA Administrator to develop plans to deploy quantum-enabled sensors and networks within five years; prioritizes a domestic quantum workforce through expanded apprenticeships, credentials, and new National Quantum Workforce Development Institutes; and calls for measures to secure domestic supply chains and manufacturing capabilities. Finally, it reconstitutes the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee and directs expansion of the Quantum Counterintelligence Protection Team.

In parallel with the Administration’s quantum innovation order, Congress is pursuing bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and modernize the 2018 National Quantum Initiative. Among other things, the proposed legislation would expand federal quantum R&D programs, promote technology commercialization, support workforce development, and strengthen domestic quantum supply chain security. If enacted, these measures would complement the Administration’s executive order by providing a longer-term statutory framework and funding mechanism to support US leadership in quantum computing and related technologies.

The PQC Order

The PQC Order directs the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) and the National Cyber Director to lead an accelerated, nationwide migration to PQC. Per the order’s fact sheet, the Department of Commerce, the National Security Agency, and the Department of Homeland Security will issue guidance for agencies. Agencies must transition high-value assets for certain uses to PQC by 2030 or 2031, depending on the use case, materially ahead of the 2035 target set under National Security Memorandum 10.

Additional directives include a Commerce-led PQC migration pilot project to be completed by December 31, 2027; coordination among OMB, the Department of War, NASA, and the General Services Administration to identify cost-saving opportunities; and assistance to critical-infrastructure operators, foreign governments, and foreign industry groups in their own PQC transitions. Notably for contractors, the Order directs the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to require covered contractors to meet certain federal cybersecurity standards and vulnerability disclosure policies by the end of 2030.

The PQC Order’s instruction to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council continues a trend of pushing cybersecurity obligations into the acquisition framework, an area Mayer Brown has tracked through proposed FAR changes to standardize cybersecurity requirements and impose cyber threat and incident reporting rules and shifting federal software-security policy, including when OMB rescinded the Biden-era software security memoranda.

Takeaways

Together, the Executive Orders signal that the federal government intends both to accelerate the quantum era and to harden against it. The orders highlight the importance of understanding cryptographic inventories, identifying high-value assets and “harvest-now, decrypt-later” exposure, and mapping a migration path to NIST-vetted post-quantum algorithms. The compressed 2030–2031 federal timeline, the 2027 pilot, and the 2030 contractor deadline will likely become reference points for private-sector expectations as well.
Much of the operational detail will come through the implementing guidance directed to Commerce, NSA, DHS, OMB, and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council. How the accelerated deadlines translate into binding requirements remains to be seen. Mayer Brown will continue to monitor these developments.