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Renaming the Department of Defense to ‘Department of War’ Could Cost Up to $2 Billion

Congress must authorize a legal name change requiring new appropriations.

Overview

  • An NBC News report cites six people briefed on early projections who say the full rebrand could reach $2 billion.
  • About $1 billion of the estimate is tied to replacing signage and letterhead across U.S. military sites worldwide, according to bipartisan congressional staffers.
  • Significant additional costs would come from rewriting code and updating software across the department’s classified and unclassified systems.
  • Under a September executive order, the Pentagon has begun using the title in communications, updating web domains, social handles, and some office signage while many identifiers remain unchanged.
  • The Pentagon says it is aggressively implementing the directive and has not finalized a cost estimate, as lawmakers weigh bills to codify the change and Democrats seek a CBO analysis, with some Republicans voicing opposition.