In a direct challenge to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s rollback of diversity initiatives in the military, a House committee has advanced a measure that would block him from using federal funds to restore U.S. military base names with Confederate roots.
The House Armed Services Committee on July 16 approved an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would prohibit the Pentagon from using any of next year’s budget to rename military installations in honor of Confederate figures. The amendment, introduced by Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), narrowly passed with support from two Republicans—Reps. Derek Schmidt (R-Kan.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.)—joining Democrats in the vote.
“This attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion is really an attempt to suppress, erase, and make some people invisible while elevating others,” Strickland said during a July 15 committee hearing.
Hegseth Reverses Confederate Name Removals—But With a Loophole
Hegseth, who has made dismantling what he calls “wokeness” in the armed forces a central priority, recently reversed the Biden-era renaming of two bases: Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Benning in Georgia. Both had been renamed by a bipartisan commission created by Congress in 2021 to distance the military from Confederate symbols.
However, Hegseth avoided a direct clash with the commission’s orders by renaming the installations after unrelated decorated veterans who happened to share the same last names as the original Confederate honorees. Fort Liberty was renamed Fort Bragg, now said to honor WWII Silver Star recipient PFC Roland Bragg. Fort Moore was rebranded Fort Benning, in honor of WWI hero Cpl. Fred G. Benning.
Critics say the move is a thinly veiled effort to restore Confederate symbolism without directly defying legal mandates.
The Pentagon declined to comment on the proposed amendment, and it’s uncertain whether Hegseth will be able to work around it as he did previously.
Praise from Naming Commission Leadership
Retired Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, vice chair of the base renaming commission and former head of the West Point history department, praised the committee’s move.
“I’m proud of the House for honoring the will of the American people,” he said in a statement to USA TODAY, referencing Congress’s original decision to remove Confederate names from military facilities.
The commission had renamed Fort Benning to Fort Moore in 2023, honoring Vietnam War hero Gen. Hal Moore and his wife, Julia, and Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty. Both original names honored Confederate generals who fought to preserve slavery.
Trump Weighs In
During a speech at Fort Bragg on June 10, President Donald Trump signaled his support for restoring several more bases to their original names, listing Fort Hood, Fort Polk, Fort Rucker, and others.
“We won a lot of battles out of those forts—it’s no time to change,” Trump said.
Hegseth: “A Generational Link”
Hegseth defended his actions in a June Senate hearing, saying the original names are part of military heritage and important for troop morale.
“Ask people who serve at Fort Bragg or Fort Benning if they’re glad to have the names back,” he said. “This effort to erase our history breaks a generational link. It’s garbage.”
Whether the amendment will survive final negotiations over the defense bill remains uncertain, but for now, it sets up a fresh showdown over the military’s legacy, identity, and whose stories get honored.
