Congressional Republicans are moving to formally rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, advancing legislation that would transform a Trump administration branding initiative into federal law and potentially trigger a government-wide rebranding effort estimated to cost as much as $125 million.
The House and Senate Armed Services Committees have both included the measure in their versions of the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense policy bill that authorizes approximately $1.15 trillion in military spending.
While neither chamber has yet passed its bill, the provision's inclusion in both drafts marks the strongest congressional backing yet for a proposal President Donald Trump first introduced through an executive order last year.
That order directed the Pentagon to adopt "Department of War" as a secondary title in official communications. Since then, the agency has updated some signs, correspondence, social media accounts and email signatures to reflect the designation. However, because the department's official name is established in law, a permanent change requires congressional approval.
Supporters argue the name better reflects the military's mission and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's emphasis on restoring what he has called a "warrior ethos" within the armed forces, as The Washington Post explains. Rep. Ronny Jackson, the Texas Republican who led the effort to add the provision to the House bill, said restoring the title would send "an unmistakable signal" to rivals including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Democrats have dismissed the proposal as a symbolic exercise with little practical value. Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, called it "one of the dumbest things that has been done by this administration," while Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia argued that adversaries could use the name to portray the United States as more inclined toward conflict.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated in January that the full-scale rebranding could cost between $10 million and $125 million, depending on how extensively the Pentagon replaces signs, seals, publications, digital systems and other materials.
The estimate echoes concerns raised when the administration first floated the idea last year. Critics noted that renaming military installations that honored Confederate figures during the Biden administration ultimately cost more than $60 million.
The proposal would reverse a change made after World War II, when Congress reorganized the military establishment and renamed the War Department as the Department of Defense in 1949. The original War Department had been established in 1789 under President George Washington.
