Pentagon urges Congress to codify ‘Department of War’ name change it estimates will cost $52 million

The Pentagon has formally asked for congressional approval to codify its “Department of War” moniker, estimating it will cost taxpayers around $52 million.

The estimate from the Pentagon is significantly lower than what the Congressional Budget Office projected in January, when it estimated the rebranding could cost as much as $125 million if it were adopted “broadly and rapidly” throughout the department.

The Pentagon claimed the change, which includes renaming the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of War, would have no “significant impact” on President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2027 defense budget request because most implementation costs will be absorbed during the current 2026 fiscal year.

The “actual costs are being collected during implementation and will be available” once the current fiscal year’s execution of the name change is completed, according to the department.

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In its legislative proposal, the Pentagon said roughly $52 million is expected to be used, including $44.6 million for the Defense Agencies and the department’s field activities, $3.5 million for the military departments, $3 million for Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s office and Washington Headquarters Services, $400,000 for the Joint Staff, Combatant Commands and National Guard Bureau.

“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 request to rebrand the department would make around 7,600 changes to federal law. The Pentagon has already changed its website and social media accounts to reflect the rebranding, and Hegseth’s nameplate on his office door already reads, “Secretary of War.”

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This comes after Trump signed an executive order in the fall to rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War, a move that sparked criticism but that some anti-war advocates argued was more fitting for an administration they say is eager to wage war.

“The name change really does help highlight how rogue, unconstitutional, and unlawful the president’s actions are,” former Rep. Justin Amash, a Republican turned Libertarian, wrote on X in September.

But some of Trump’s Republican allies in Congress have signaled support for the name change, with Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introducing legislation in their respective chambers seeking to codify the rebranding.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, Democrats have criticized the Pentagon’s request to codify the moniker, as lawmakers begin hashing out the fiscal 2027 defense policy bill.

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“The American people can’t afford groceries, gas, or rent — and the Pentagon has ALREADY wasted $50 million on renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War. Now they want more money,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., wrote on X.

The Department of War was established in 1789 by President George Washington. It was later replaced by the National Military Establishment in 1947, which was redesignated as the Department of Defense in 1949.