Overview
- The House Armed Services Committee approved Rep. Marilyn Strickland’s amendment to bar Pentagon funding for any Army base renamings in fiscal 2026 by a one-vote margin with Reps. Don Bacon and Derek Schmidt joining Democrats.
- The Senate version of the bill enshrines the 2022 Military Naming Commission’s recommended changes and bans reversals of Confederate-linked names but applies only to Virginia installations.
- President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have restored nine Army bases to their Confederate-linked names by attributing them to unrelated servicemembers to circumvent congressional mandates.
- Supporters view the amendments as a defense of bipartisan racial justice reforms, while critics describe the White House’s attribution strategy as a political maneuver and morale play.
- Lawmakers warn that a failure to reconcile the base naming provisions could delay passage of the fiscal 2026 defense authorization act.