Overview
- President Trump signed the two executive orders on Monday, June 22, 2026, launching a coordinated federal drive to both build advanced quantum systems and harden government networks against quantum threats.
- One order creates the QC‑ADDS initiative and directs the Department of Energy to define technical requirements within 90 days and pursue a ‘scientifically relevant’ quantum computer for a DOE facility with a target of 2028.
- The second order speeds federal migration to post‑quantum cryptography, orders a NIST pilot by the end of 2027, and sets key‑establishment and signature deadlines around 2030–2031 to replace earlier guidance that stretched to 2035.
- Agencies must also expand counterintelligence protections, strengthen domestic supply chains, grow the quantum workforce, and coordinate industry and allied partnerships to guard sensitive research and critical infrastructure.
- The moves follow recent Commerce Department funding plans and the 2018 National Quantum Initiative, and they trigger urgent planning across tech, finance and crypto sectors that face ‘harvest‑now, decrypt‑later’ risks if migration lags.