The proposal by President Donald Trump to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War could potentially burden taxpayers with a cost of $125 million, and that figure might only be the beginning.
The recent activities within Trump’s Administration have raised questions, particularly concerning the renaming of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
Historically known as an informal moniker, Trump took steps to formalize this by signing an executive order in September 2025, a decision that could prove to be financially significant.
Trump explained that the rebranding was indicative of the nation’s ‘strength,’ stating according to ABC News: “I think it sends a message of victory. I think it sends a message, really a message of strength.”
“We’re very strong.”
Nonetheless, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) suggested in a report dated January 14 that the rebranding could incur costs ranging from $10 million to $125 million.
The CBO’s findings indicate that, should the name change remain confined to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s office, expenses might be minimized. However, if the change were to be executed extensively and swiftly throughout the department, costs could soar to $125 million.
“The faster the changes were implemented, the more parts of DoD that the changes applied to, and the more complete the renaming, the costlier it would be,” the estimate noted.
The CBO further pointed out that a legislative move by the Trump administration to officially rename the Department of Defense could result in significant expenses.
“If phased in gradually and limited to [the Office of the Secretary of Defense], incremental costs could be similar to the range of costs for an unofficial name change,” the report stated.
“If, however, implementing agencies chose to mandate an immediate change across all materials, costs could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.”
While the CBO aims to ‘provide objective, nonpartisan information’ to Congress, it has encountered obstacles. The Department of Defense has not disclosed specifics on how it has been implementing the changes since the executive order in September, nor on future plans if the new name is formally adopted, thus preventing an accurate cost assessment.
Changes already observed include the replacement of Hegseth’s office door sign with a ‘Secretary of War’ sign and the Pentagon’s website transition from ‘defense.gov’ to ‘war.gov’.
Inquiries have been made to the White House for further comments.