Donald Trump’s Plan to Rename the Department of Defense Could Cost $2 Billion: Report

Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the Department of Defense as the “Department of War” may come with a price tag exceeding $2 billion, according to reporting from NBC News that cites multiple senior congressional staffers briefed on the matter.

Trump signed the order in September, arguing that the original name — established by President George Washington in 1789 — better reflects the nation’s military purpose. The White House website states that the updated title signals “peace through strength” and readiness to “fight and win wars” whenever necessary.

The directive elevates current Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the title of Secretary of War, which will appear on all official correspondence and office materials. His office and portraits inside the Pentagon have reportedly already been updated to reflect the new designation, as has that of Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg.

Despite these moves, the formal name change still requires congressional approval.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the department is actively implementing the directive and views the change as an important reflection of its core mission: “winning wars.”

The potentially steep cost comes from a vast collection of updates required across the U.S. military. NBC News reports that replacing thousands of signs, letterheads, badges, and displays worldwide could alone reach around $1 billion.

Even more expensive, sources say, may be the task of revising digital systems — including website coding and software updates across classified and unclassified networks throughout the department.