Trump signs quantum computing and encryption orders.
Today's events
Quantum orders.
Trump signed two executive orders: one to build the first quantum computer powerful enough to drive scientific discovery, the other to move federal systems onto post-quantum encryption against future code-breaking by adversaries.1Jun 22 · WHIran and Hormuz.
Secretary Rubio travels to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain to advance the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding and secure free transit through the Strait of Hormuz, meeting the Gulf Cooperation Council in Bahrain.2Jun 22 · StateISIS finance.
The United States sanctioned three individuals and six entities that moved money for ISIS across France, Syria, Türkiye, and Nigeria, including a Syria-based operator who used cryptocurrency to route funds for ISIS associates abroad.3Jun 22 · StateWhite House plot.
The FBI arrested two more men in Washington and Missouri on murder-conspiracy charges over a plot to attack the June 14 Ultimate Fighting Championship event held on White House grounds.4Jun 22 · DOJPax Silica.
The State Department hosts the Pax Silica Summit June 25–26, convening partner economies and technology executives to build trusted AI supply chains and deepen cooperation on critical minerals, semiconductors, and compute, with new partners signing on.5Jun 22 · StatePlutonium fuel.
The Energy Department opened negotiations with five firms — including Oklo and SHINE Technologies — to convert nearly 20 metric tons of surplus weapons plutonium into advanced reactor fuel, reversing a Cold-War disposal program.6Jun 22 · DOEU.S.–India trade.
Trade Representative Greer travels to New Delhi to advance the U.S.–India interim agreement and broader bilateral trade deal with Commerce Minister Goyal, then to Tashkent for talks with Uzbekistan's leadership.7Jun 21 · USTRStablecoin rule.
Five federal financial regulators jointly proposed requiring payment-stablecoin issuers to run customer-identification programs, extending bank-style anti-money-laundering checks to dollar-pegged crypto tokens.8Jun 22 · TreasuryUSDA preferences.
A Justice Department legal opinion found USDA conservation programs that waived fees for “socially disadvantaged” farmers by race and sex unconstitutional, while upholding five related programs as race-neutral.9Jun 22 · DOJ
This week
Iran deal signed.
Trump signed an agreement this week that bars an Iranian nuclear weapon and reopens the Strait of Hormuz, starting a 60-day clock to a final accord. The White House defended the terms while Secretary Rubio toured the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain and met the Gulf Cooperation Council in Bahrain to secure free transit. The Federal Reserve, holding rates steady, cited Middle East energy supply shocks as a reason inflation stayed elevated.1Jun 18 · WHGeneral in Caracas.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, made the first official U.S. military visit to Caracas, met the interim government, and backed Trump's three-phase plan for a stable, democratic Venezuela. Sending the top U.S. officer to the country holding the world's largest proven oil reserves put military weight behind a political transition Washington has been steering.2Jun 18 · Joint ChiefsContainer cartel charged.
The Justice Department unsealed an antitrust indictment of four major shipping-container makers and seven Chinese executives for fixing prices on roughly $35 billion of global trade. The named firms control about 95% of the world's standard shipping containers — the steel boxes that carry most seaborne cargo — so the case reaches a China-centered choke point that nearly all containerized trade passes through.3Jun 18 · DOJLithium under the Carolinas.
A U.S. Geological Survey study estimated 1.43 million metric tons of recoverable lithium oxide in the southern Appalachians — roughly 200 years of U.S. imports at current rates. Paired with a Sandia National Laboratories method that recycles 95% of spent battery cathodes in two hours, the week added two domestic answers to a supply chain China dominates at the processing stage.4Jun 18 · USGSGermany drug-price probe.
The U.S. Trade Representative opened a Section 301 investigation into whether Germany's persistent underpayment for innovative drugs unfairly burdens American commerce, with a hearing set for September. Opening a trade-pressure case against a G7 ally rests on the administration's argument, echoed by the health secretary, that American patients shoulder a disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical research and development.7Jun 19 · USTR
Allied Governments
Ukraine strike weapons.
The Ministry of Defence flight-tested three British-designed long-range strike systems under Project Brakestop, awarding about £15 million to each firm to field low-cost weapons that hit targets beyond 500 kilometres for Ukraine.aJun 22 · UK MoDMoldova partnership.
NATO's deputy assistant secretary general for partnerships visited Moldova, pledging support to strengthen its defence capacity, resilience, and ability to counter cyber threats and malign interference.bJun 22 · NATOIsrael-Syria diplomacy.
At the UN Security Council, the United Kingdom urged Israel to resume negotiations with the Syrian government and to pursue a diplomatic solution.cJun 22 · UK FCDO
Voices
“Quantum information science and technology … will provide transformational capabilities that will drive American innovation, power economic growth, generate high-paying jobs, and bolster national security.”
Executive Order 14411 · Jun 221
“We are cutting off the financial lifelines from around the world that enable ISIS to fund attacks, support its regional affiliates, and threaten civilians, including religious minorities.”
State Dept. Spokesperson Tommy Pigott · Jun 223
“This collective resolve demonstrates to anyone who threatens the lives of American citizens — this FBI and our partners will find you no matter where you hide.”
FBI Director Kash Patel · Jun 224
“Law enforcement continues to do what it does — move to disrupt and hold accountable those allegedly plotting to do harm on the White House Grounds on June 14.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche · Jun 224
“Surplus plutonium was once viewed solely as a nuclear liability and a multi-billion-dollar financial drain on taxpayers — but it doesn't have to remain one.”
Deputy Asst. Sec. Josh Jarrell, DOE · Jun 226
“Our colorblind Constitution generally prohibits the federal government from distributing benefits based on race or sex.”
DAAG Joshua Craddock, DOJ Office of Legal Counsel · Jun 229
Sources
- White House, “Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation” (Executive Order 14411) and “Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks” (Executive Order 14409), June 2026. whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/…/quantum-innovation
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Secretary Rubio's Travel to the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain,” June 22, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/secretary-rubios-travel
- U.S. Dept. of State, “United States Targets ISIS Financial Networks Across Three Continents,” June 22, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/isis-financial-networks
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “FBI Arrests Two More Men in Washington and Missouri in Connection with Planned Attack on Government Officials at White House UFC Event,” June 22, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/white-house-ufc-plot
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Pax Silica Summit Invitation,” June 22, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/pax-silica-summit-invitation
- U.S. Dept. of Energy, “Department of Energy Seeks to Transform Surplus Plutonium into Nuclear Fuel,” June 22, 2026. energy.gov/ne/articles/…/surplus-plutonium-nuclear-fuel
- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, “Ambassador Greer to Travel to India and Uzbekistan,” June 21, 2026. ustr.gov/…/ambassador-greer-travel-india-and-uzbekistan
- Federal Register / U.S. Treasury (FinCEN), “Permitted Payment Stablecoin Issuer Customer Identification Program,” June 22, 2026. federalregister.gov/…/payment-stablecoin-issuer-cip
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Justice Department Concludes USDA Preferences for ‘Socially Disadvantaged’ Groups Violate the Constitution,” June 22, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/usda-preferences-unconstitutional
- UK Ministry of Defence, “UK accelerates long-range strike capability for Ukraine,” June 22, 2026. gov.uk/government/news/…/uk-long-range-strike-ukraine
- NATO News, “NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Partnerships visits Moldova,” June 22, 2026. nato.int/…/dasg-partnerships-visits-moldova
- UK Foreign Office (FCDO), “We urge Israel to resume negotiations with the Syrian government and to pursue a diplomatic solution: UK statement at the UN Security Council,” June 22, 2026. gov.uk/government/speeches/…/uk-statement-israel-syria-unsc