Secretary of War Pete Hegseth finishes the installation of a Department of War plaque at the River Entrance in front of the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., Nov. 13, 2025. (Madelyn Keech/Defense Department)
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is asking Congress to codify the Department of War name.
A Defense Department legislative proposal sent to Capitol Hill this month estimates the name change to date has cost about $50 million, and the proposal would make roughly 7,600 conforming changes to federal law. Costs are being collected and will be available after the fiscal year 2026 is completed.
“The revision to the designation of the Department serves as a fundamental reminder of the importance and reverence of our core mission, to fight and win wars,” the proposal reads. “It serves as a strategic objective in which to measure and prioritize all activities.”
The Congressional Budget Office in January estimated that implementing the renaming of DOD could cost as much as $125 million or more depending on the scope of the change.
“CBO’s estimate is uncertain because [the Defense Department] has not provided information about how it plans to implement the order,” the budget office wrote in an 11-page letter. “Costs would be at least a few million dollars if [the Defense Department] phased in a minimal implementation, but they could be as large as $125 million if the name change was implemented broadly and rapidly throughout the department. A statutory renaming could cost hundreds of millions of dollars depending on how Congress and [the Defense Department] chose to implement the change.”
Codifying the name comes after President Donald Trump in September signed an executive order instructing the Pentagon to begin using the name “Department of War” in official communications and to pursue actions that would permanently rename the Defense Department. The secondary title has not been approved by Congress.
A group of Senate Democrats in September called for a formal cost assessment of the president’s order.
“Given the Trump administration’s repeated emphasis on fiscal restraint … this symbolic renaming is both wasteful and hypocritical,” the senators wrote at the time. “It appears to prioritize political theater over responsible governance, while diverting resources from core national security functions.”
Republican lawmakers at the time of Trump’s order — Rep. Greg Steube, of Florida, and Sens. Mike Lee, of Utah, and Rick Scott, of Florida — introduced legislation to redesignate the Defense Department as the Department of War and rename the position of Defense Secretary to Secretary of War.
The department’s website, social media accounts and some signage at the Pentagon have since been changed to reflect the renaming. In November, a new Department of War plaque was installed at the Pentagon’s main entrance for visiting VIPs.
