The Pentagon has asked Congress to change the name of the “Department of Defense” to the “Department of War,” while the efforts already underway to make it happen have exceeded $50 million.
This proposal, which was in a new Pentagon legislative package, calls for Congress to amend all references to “Secretary of Defense” and “Department of Defense” to “Secretary of War” and “Department of War,” respectively, in the U.S. Code as well as all derivative names. It would also update Pentagon acronyms, including “Office of the Secretary of Defense” or “OSD” to the “Office of the Secretary of War” and “OSW.”
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If this proposal is enacted, it would result in approximately 7,600 changes in law.
The department began making some changes following President Donald Trump’s September 2025 executive order and Secretary Pete Hegseth’s October 2025 guidance on the subject. Congress is the sole entity that can change the department’s title, whereas Trump’s EO brought back the “Department of War” as a “secondary title.”
The proposal notes that the department currently estimates it has spent a tick over $50 million in fiscal 2026 across the military services, including roughly $45 million for defense agencies and department field activities.
“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. It serves as a strategic
objective in which to measure and prioritize all activities,” the proposal said, which was first reported by Inside Defense, adding that it will have “no significant impact on the use of resources requested within the FY 2027 President’s Budget.”
In January, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the change could cost anywhere from $10 million to $125 million, depending on how broadly and quickly it’s implemented. The department quickly went about changing social media handles and signage across the Pentagon building itself.
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President George Washington created the Department of War in 1879, and it was renamed the Department of Defense in 1949.
Hegseth was asked last week about potentially changing the department’s name instead to the “Department of Peace,” and he said, “Well, that’s the pursuit. It’s a great question, actually. You go from defense to war because you want to be proactive about peace through strength. And really, I gave a speech in front of generals about what the ethos of the War Department is all about, because I want it to go through every echelon of this department.”
